Avalon 1.9 The Elders part 4 of 4

October 16, 2025August 31, 2025M G Kizzia Leave a comment

“I was wondering why you kept staring at the thing,” Lockhart said.

“What are you reading?” Boston and Alexis asked together.

“David Copperfield,” Lincoln answered.

“Not some science fiction like Lord of the Rings or something?” Captain Decker wondered.

Lincoln shook his head. “I prefer realistic fiction.”

“Yeah,” Lockhart said. “But I have found that realism is not necessarily realistic.”

“I can see that,” Katie said.

“Storm coming up fast.” Roland still looked behind, to keep an eye on their follower. The wind shifted to blow from the stern and while a good blow might have tempted them to try running with the wind, these clouds looked very dark.

“Lieutenant. Help me get the sail down.” Captain Decker ordered.

“Lincoln, you and I need to hold the rudder,” Lockhart said.

“Father!” Alexis stepped forward to bring down their makeshift jib, but Mingus stared at the clouds. The lead cloud had a face, and one that did not look happy.

“Djin!”

“Probably unhappy that we keep killing his lesser cousins,” Roland suggested.

“The ghouls,” Mingus explained to the Captain and Lieutenant who paused in uncertainty.

Mingus shook his head and went to help Alexis. Everything got taken down and tied by the time the storm hit, including the crew, and good thing. The first strike snapped the rudder and nearly capsized the boat. Katie and Lincoln would have been washed overboard if they were not secured.

The storm pounded them, but Mingus, Alexis, and Roland combined enough magic to keep them from being turned over or broken apart. The waves rose twenty and thirty feet above them, but they moved like the proverbial cork on the water, rising up one mountain and free falling down the other side. The others bailed. They had to.

The ship spun around, first one way and then the other until they had no sense of direction at all. The only thing they could count on was the amulet, but Boston felt afraid to get it out for fear it might be washed overboard. She clutched it with her hand over her shirt and kept it tight between her breasts. She jumped with every new stroke of lightning but never let go.

Roland heard the scream first and looked up into the black sky. Mingus had to squeeze his son’s hand to bring his concentration back to task. The face of the Djin, still in cloud form, came down like a dive-bomber and buzzed the boat just above their heads.

“Focus,” Mingus roared against the storm and the thunder.

Alexis knew better than to look. Lincoln would have to scream for her, and he did. Boston also closed her eyes. Katie Harper and Captain Decker tried to concentrate on bailing. Lockhart growled.

The scream came a second time, this time from the other side. But when it reached the ship, Lockhart held up an oar in its face. The cloud face broke apart on the oar, but it simply reformed on the other side, and as it rose again into the storm, they heard the laughter—a real cackle of amusement. It toyed with them. They knew it, and the Djin knew it, too.

The scream came a third time, but this time before it reached the ship it pulled up and let out a very different sound. It disappeared in the clouds and an old man appeared in the ship, or so it seemed.

The man glowed, not with the awesome light of the gods, but like a lantern or perhaps a lighthouse in the storm. He showed a warm and welcoming glow, the kind ships always looked for in the dark of the night. The ship itself seemed to broaden, so the man could sit comfortably in their midst. No one knew quite what to say, as the rain softened, and the water calmed around them. Outside of their little bubble, the storm still raged in its full ferocity, but within the bubble, all became calm and quiet.

“I must say,” the old man spoke first. “When Odelion asked me to keep an eye on your progress, I hardly expected it to be a request worthy of note. Now I see what he meant.”

“I don’t think he knows about the Djin,” Katie said, honestly.

“A bit more powerful than its cousins,” Lincoln added, as he set down his hat, the only thing he could find to bail with.

“Like a Bokarus on steroids,” Lockhart said, and the man smiled and spoke again.

“When the wind comes up from the coast of, what does he call it? Oh yes, Africa, it often brings storms. Many a good fisherman has been blown to other shores by such storms and many, sadly, have been lost.

“Lost?” Boston wondered. “Couldn’t you help them?”

The man shook his head. “No, dear Boston. I can help you because you don’t belong here in the first place, but for those who are, what is the word, native?” He shook his head again.

“It is the two commandments even the gods must follow,” Alexis spoke up. “One is that men die, and two is that even the gods must not change rule number one.”

“A fair statement, elf daughter.” The man nodded his head. “Now Boston, dear, where is this time gate of yours?”

Boston paused. The man called her dear twice, and she never felt so special in her life. She just wanted to smile forever, but she remembered. “Oh.” She pulled out the amulet and pointed. “Only five miles. That storm certainly ate up the distance.”

“Very good,” the man said, and the ship, the whole bubble, which included the water immediately beneath the ship, rose-up into the storm and raced to the spot. “Sadly, perhaps, I cannot go with you to explore this other world. I will get there all in good time.”

“What do you mean you cannot?” Roland sounded confused.

“A fair restriction,” the man said. “Sometimes we must restrict ourselves and each other. When these gates were established, it was decided to bar all who were native to the time, even the gods. Perhaps especially the gods. I see though with some, such as yourselves, exceptions have been made. That is the decision of the source.”

“The—” Katie started to say something, but the man raised his hand and cut off her thoughts.

“I have said enough on that score and really only have one last thing to say. Captain Decker,” the man turned to the marine. “It will do you no good to continue to berate yourself and think of failure. All turned out well in the end, didn’t it?”

The captain got surprised by the words, but he nodded.

“There, so it would be best to put it out of your mind. Oh, but I see something else is bothering you. About young Odelion?”

Captain Decker looked straight at the man in the boat as he answered. “The poor man has four wives.” He shook his head and disguised nothing about the way he felt. He imagined that to be torture. The man in the boat smiled at first, but as he thought about it, he began to laugh. The laughter was contagious. Very soon everyone laughed, even those among them who did not find the captain’s attitude particularly funny. They could not help it.

“Well, you may find one or two surprises for you up ahead, but for now, you are here.” The man spoke again after a while. “Now all of you who don’t belong here need to go through the gate.” He vanished before Lockhart could speak.

“You don’t mean the Gott-Druk, too.”

“Or the werewolf.” Lincoln remembered.

“I just hope the Djin is of this time-period,” Roland said, as he picked up an oar. They were going to have to row through the gate that Boston said should be right in front of them.

************************

MONDAY

The Travelers try to get to the Were people on the Transylvanian plateau, but one gets sidetracked in episode 10, Kidnapped. See you Monday. Happy Reading,

Avalon 1.9 The Elders part 3 of 4

October 15, 2025August 31, 2025M G Kizzia Leave a comment

Odelion found Decker sitting in the chief’s chair by the council rock. Of course, Captain Decker would have no way of knowing it was supposed to be a sacred seat, like a throne of sorts. Odelion did not mind. He just took Balamine’s seat.

“Are you all right?” he asked. Captain Decker spoke but he did not look at Odelion.

“Why did you bring me on this mission? I nearly killed everyone.”

“A-ha! So you admit that lady Alice and Glen and I are all the same person.”

“It would be kind of hard not to admit that at this point.”

Odelion waited before he spoke in case the captain had something more to say. “You are here because of your military background. You are a marine, you have been with the seals, done specialized missions in the field and have the training in both strategy and tactics that may be needed to get everyone home safe and in one piece.”

“But that is why I almost killed everyone. And I could have.”

“But you didn’t, and now that glamour will be much harder for another ghoul to get away with. You are experienced, and with such experience comes a natural resistance.”

“Small comfort.”

Odelion stood, but he had one more thing to say. “Take as much time as you need, only remember your crew needs you, too.”

Captain Decker nodded before he asked his question. “So why are you up?”

Odelion smiled a very broad smile. “I have four wives. You don’t think I get any real sleep, do you?”

Captain Decker nodded but said no more as Odelion walked off.

Roland came back to the hut at the same time. “Ghoul scouts come in threes when they are searching for something,” he said. “And seven in the force to follow.”

“That is two,” Mingus counted. “Anenki’s and Odelion’s.” No one had to say there was another one out there, somewhere, and seven to follow after that.

~~~*~~~

In the morning, Odelion took them straight to the docks. “This is modeled after the ships of the Aristopholas in the south. They regularly make trips to trade in North Africa, so it should be seaworthy for as far as you are going.”

“Look out for the Gott-Druk in the orange jumpsuit,” Lockhart reminded Odelion. “He looked to have a sophistication of devices that your present-day Gott-Druk do not possess. He and his crew called your Gott-Druk weapons primitive.”

“You really think he does not belong here?”

Lockhart looked around before he nodded. “We all think it, and he may yet tip the balance of the coming conflict.”

Odelion nodded. “I will watch. My wild men are out even now on the edge of the village, watching. That was how we knew of the attack in advance.”

“Technology is good,” Captain Decker said, with a look at Lieutenant Harper. “But there is no substitute for a good pair of eyes.”

Odelion just nodded again and he and his wives said good-bye. “I have asked that Oceanus watch over you in your journey,” Odelion added at the last, and he waved while the travelers shoved off. No one saw a small fishing boat with a good sail pull up its own anchor and drift into the wake of the bigger ship. No one noticed, so no one saw that the boat appeared to be empty.

~~~*~~~

The land began to fall away behind the travelers, slowly. They had to row against the wind. The ship, as the marines called it, was just big enough for the eight of them. The rowers sat on two benches, side by side. Lockhart and Captain Decker sat toward the bow, Roland and Lincoln toward the stern. They each had an oar and had very little room between them as they tried to row in unison.

Alexis and Mingus sat on the two benches in the bow where they stowed some of their packs. They had a fairy weave tent and spare oar between them and they were trying to rework the plain flat sail into a sufficient fore and aft style where they could tack in the contrary wind.

Boston and Katie were in the stern on the simple oar that acted as a rudder. They had pulled it up to let the rowers work, so there really was little for them to do other than watch where they were going and watch where they had been. The craft did seem big enough, so they did not worry about standing up, but Captain Decker also pointed out that they only had a short, built-in keel, so there was a chance of tipping over if they were not careful.

Boston kept her eyes on the amulet and kept them generally headed in the right direction. She ignored Lincoln when he complained he could not possibly row twenty miles. Katie watched the land recede and the waves roll. After a while, she thought she saw something different. She reached down to her pack, which got stored in the stern, and retrieved her binoculars. After a look, she handed the glasses to Boston.

“What is that? There,” she asked.

“Another ship,” Boston confirmed. She looked without the glasses and then tried the binoculars again. “It is beyond twenty-twenty sight, but with these…” She paused before she finished her thought. “I would say it is following us.”

“Yes,” Katie confirmed when she got the binoculars back. “Only I can’t see anyone in it.”

“Oars up,” Alexis spoke from up in the front. Whatever she and her father had concocted was ready for a trial. Some of the concoction had been magical. Boston and Katie both expected that. Most of it, though, looked like simple technology. They managed to adjust the square sail rigging to give more side-to-side action so it could be used for more than just downwind sailing. Then with the oar and fairy weave, they made a jib which they erected in the bow.

“Not very strong,” Mingus admitted. “We might not go much faster than the oars, but that is just as well. We don’t want to roll.”

“I have grown the keel a little,” Alexis added. “But there are limits.”

The oars came up and if anything, the ship slowed down, but it continued its forward progress, and the men were glad to think they did not have to row the whole way.

“Roland.” Boston called the elf, having thought of his hunter’s eyes. “Come look at this.” They reached for each other and held one another at the elbows to carefully traded places.

As soon as Roland got to the rear he announced, “Another boat, following us.” Boston concluded that the elf eyes were better than twenty-twenty. She had guessed as much. When Roland took the binoculars for a closer look, he said something they did not want to hear. “Gott-Druk at the helm. One in orange.” He returned the binoculars. “Cloaked. Invisible to human eyes, but not so sophisticated as to prevent my seeing.”

The click they heard came from Captain Decker, attaching the scope to his rifle.

“Hold,” Lockhart said. “He is staying beyond normal human sight. He probably doesn’t imagine he has been seen. We are too vulnerable at sea. As long as he keeps his distance, we can ignore him.”

“I am sniper trained,” Decker said.

“But he is invisible to your eyes,” Roland reiterated.

“Besides, return fire given the weaponry that is probably at his disposal would blow the ship out from beneath us.”

“At least,” Katie agreed.

“We just ignore him?” Lincoln asked.

“For now.” Lockhart nodded. “If he follows us through the time gate, we can probably set a better trap further on.”

“Agreed.” Captain Decker unattached his scope.

Then they sat until the silence became complete.

They sat for a long time with nothing to look at but the sea and each other.

“Hats,” Alexis insisted early on. “We are getting much too much sun.”

They sat and listened to the water splash against the sides of the boat.

“I wish I brought a deck of cards,” Lockhart said.

The Mediterranean smelled especially strong of salt and brine.

Boston fingered her khaki shorts made from that marvelous fairy weave. She began to change the color, tried stripes, dots and flower prints before she changed them back to khaki. That entertained everyone for a few minutes.

The sea looked as endless as the time.

“This database is interesting,” Lincoln said. “Did you know there are whole novels downloaded?” Several hands shot out and slapped Lincoln hard enough to almost make him drop the handheld.

************************

THURSDAY

The episode will conclude tomorrow. They are being followed by an invisible man. Good luck with that…

Avalon 1.9 The Elders part 2 of 4

October 14, 2025August 31, 2025M G Kizzia Leave a comment

The Gott-Druk spread out as they removed the mukluks and began to climb the little hill. Lockhart simply said “fire,” and the Gott-Druk began to fall. Two of the orange men and four of the six Gott-Druk from the space plane went down before anyone returned fire. The last two from the plane each got off a shot. The travelers had to duck and flatten themselves to the ground. One tree got set on fire. Luckily, no one got hurt, though they all felt the heat.

Then the last two Gott-Druk from the plane fell. They were brought downed by weapons similar to their own heat rays. That fire came from the top of the hill and some men stood on that hilltop when it was over.

“Lincoln, Roland and Decker only,” Lockhart said as he stood. “The rest of you stay hidden.” The men stepped free of the trees and Captain Decker spoke softly.

“We missed the orange leader.”

“I noticed,” Lockhart responded quietly, which inspired Lincoln to count the Gott-Druk dead. Lockhart raised his hand and waved to the men on the hill. “Elenar,” he shouted.

At least one man there waved back. “Lockhart!”

~~~*~~~

“My wives,” Odelion introduced them. “Philias is my cook and also likes to eat I might add.” She looked plump but seemed very warm and welcoming.

“Balamine is my worker bee.” In contrast with Philias, Balamine looked to be in great shape, if perhaps too skinny. “Her goal is to open the first spa and gym on the island.”

“Oh? Good for you,” the others said before Odelion said, “Just kidding.”

“I’m the one who stands between this too large family and starvation,” Balamine said with a smile for the travelers and a hard look for Odelion.

“Memseti,” Odelion moved on to the African woman. “She is my Barbie doll but with a brain. She sees to the children. It would be chaos without her. And then…” he paused. “Where is my first wife? Where is Asterasine?”

“Here I am.” The woman came in from the outside carrying a woven basket full of fresh picked flowers. “Just to freshen the home for your friends.” She put the basket in the corner before anyone realized she was missing her left arm from the elbow down.

“Gott-Druk,” Odelion referred to the missing limb. He gave Asterasine a kiss before he sat down on the floor. When he sat, the others sat. There were soft skins spread around the dirt floor for that purpose. In many ways that made it feel more like they were in a tent than a home, but there were several rooms at the back for the children so it seemed something like a house as well.

“But now the Elenar have left,” Lincoln said, casually. “What will you do if the Gott-Druk return in force?”

“As far as it goes, they were right,” Lockhart added. “Your sticks and stones are no match for their energy weapons.”

“Radiation weapons,” Odelion said. “And I know it. We will leave the island when they come. We will sail to Crete, Sicily, Southern Spain, and North Africa. We will begin again.”

“But the Elenar—” Alexis started to speak but stopped when Odelion held up his hand.

“They have not gone far, and they are watching. When the Gott-Druk come in force, they will return to do battle. Sadly, my people would never survive such a battle. We must leave or die.”

“Such a pessimist,” Philias shook her head as she brought in a great tray of fish and vegetables. Memseti followed with the first bread they had seen, albeit, unleavened. “We will live and be happy.” Philias gave Odelion a kiss and sighed and smiled at the man. Memseti followed suit but lingered a bit on Odelion’s lips.

“But right now, we must also feed the children.” Memseti followed Philias out the door.

Balamine came in after the other two left. She carried clay cups and a big jug of very weak fermented beer. “You must eat and sleep. Rest is important for your good health.”

“Listen to yourself,” Odelion pointed at her. Balamine looked at him and rolled her eyes, but this time she smiled for him.

“But now, for us.” Boston spoke over the fish. “Our way looks like it is over the water.”

Odelion nodded. “I have a boat in mind that will carry you all, that is, if you trust my late Neolithic craftsmen.”

Several of the travelers looked around the room. Lincoln spoke up.

“I don’t see as we have much choice.”

~~~*~~~

Lockhart set guards in the night to watch for the Gott-Druk. He felt especially concerned about the behavior and comments of the ones in the orange jumpsuits. He guessed they were from the future and tossed into the past like them, and everyone agreed with that conclusion. “There is no telling the capabilities in terms of advanced equipment they might have with them,” he concluded.

That night people slept well enough despite everything. They were learning to sleep when they could. The night stayed warm and the sky, clear, when Captain Decker took the watch. He looked to the moon and felt decidedly glad it was not full. He watched the stars and felt equally glad that none of them moved. All calm, he thought right before he felt the splitting headache. He squinted and put a hand to his head. When he looked again, he had a shock.

The sleepers in the room had all become ghouls. He looked where Boston and Lieutenant Harper slept. He saw only ghouls. They looked like female ghouls and he never imagined such a thing. Something in his mind said they needed to be killed. It said they all turned into ghouls because they were asleep and unable to resist. It said the only reason he did not get turned was because he was awake. He believed what his head told him, but at the same time, his military mind did not cease to work. He felt too exposed where he was, so he got up quietly to first move behind cover.

“Captain Decker, close your eyes.” The captain heard the words and recognized the voice.

“Mister Mingus?”

“Exactly. The real ghoul has cast a glamour. I see it, too. None of our friends have become ghouls. It is an illusion.”

Captain Decker paused. “How do I know you are not lying to me?”

“Man, close your eyes. Just listen to my voice. The Kairos is hunting the ghoul right now.”

Two of the sleepers stirred. Lockhart turned because he just laid down, and Boston, because she was a light sleeper.

“Decker?” Boston’s voice that came out of that ghoul mouth. “What is it?” That time the voice had a ghoulish sound to it. Captain Decker raised his rifle, but he did not pull the trigger. He slammed his eyes shut.

“Keep your eyes closed. And don’t trust your ears. The humans can be made to sound like ghouls. I have enough magic to cut through that part of the illusion. You must trust me.”

“Sir.” Captain Decker said and sweated because he came very close to killing everyone.

“Keep talking,” one of the ghouls said, but it sounded enough like Lockhart, so Captain Decker did not open his eyes.

“The ghoul had to come to the surface and get close to affect the glamour,” Mingus continued. “Roland is with Odelion. It can’t be far away. They will get it. Trust me.”

“How can I trust you? Maybe everyone has turned into ghouls. You may be the illusion trying to disarm me.”

“No one has touched you. Don’t touch him.” Alexis was up and about to do that very thing. She backed off. “Listen, captain. If they were real ghouls, they would have you on the ground already and be feasting off your soul.” Mingus paused. “Hurry up,” he said the words through what sounded like gritted teeth. He started running out of things to say to keep the captain distracted.

“It’s a trick,” Captain Decker said. “It has to be a trick.” He got ready to open his eyes when they all heard an unearthly scream. They heard a voice a moment later. It sounded like a human voice.

“All clear.”

Mingus came in from the outside. He had been speaking through the doorway with his back to the outside wall. “All clear,” he repeated the words but still kept back from touching the captain. Captain Decker opened his eyes, slowly. Everyone looked human again. What is more, the voice in his head appeared to be gone. He set his rifle on the floor where he stood and walked out into the night.

“No.” Lockhart prevented anyone from following him.

Avalon 1.9 The Elders part 1 of 4

October 13, 2025August 31, 2025M G Kizzia Leave a comment

After 4176 BC on Malta. Kairos 16: Odelion

Recording …

“I think it is ugly.” Boston rarely minced her words.

“It’s artistic,” Lincoln tried to give the benefit of the doubt. He had his pad and pencil out to make a rendering.

“It looks like it has been here for a long time. Let me see.” Katie Harper finally pulled out one of the mysterious bits of technology from of her backpack. She examined the carving by scanning it and checked the readout. The object, a flat faced carving on a stone, not really a statue, sat all alone in a clearing in the jungle.

“A representation of some demon-god,” Boston suggested.

“No. A true rendering of a spiritual reality, I would say.” Mingus touched it carefully. “I would call it a greater spirit of the night.”

“Call it a dream spirit,” Alexis suggested.

Lincoln amended that. “A nightmare spirit.” It had a flat head with high brows like a Neanderthal, eyes that glared and were far bigger than necessary, fangs for teeth, and four arms that ended in claws and looked to be reaching for the onlookers.

Katie spoke again. “According to my best estimate, this carving is about nine thousand years old.”

“Let me see.” Boston stepped over to look at Katie’s equipment. “The amulet also has a temporal setting. It says ninty-four hundred years.” She showed Katie so they could compare.

“But you said, or rather Lincoln read from the database that we have only traveled three hundred and fifty years since the beginning.” Captain Decker did the math. “You are saying this is older than the Kairos.”

“I would say nine thousand years older.” Katie nodded. “That would make it pre-flood.”

“Gott-Druk,” Mingus said.

“Neanderthal,” Lockhart translated for those who did not know.

People nodded. “I had forgotten,” Alexis admitted.

“This is Malta,” Katie said. “There should be some old temples around here as well, though they may be ruins already after the flood. It would be a good way to check the readings.”

“Quiet.” Roland’s word came sharp. His hunter senses were on alert since they climbed down the mountain and entered the jungle, and he was presently the only one paying attention to the wilderness. People looked up as he waved quickly to one side of the clearing. Everyone scattered, hid, and did their best to remain perfectly quiet.

They heard the strangers before they saw them. There were three, and they clearly looked Neanderthal. They all had on orange jumps suits of a sort that looked technologically way beyond what the humans imagined the Gott-Druk should have. Lieutenant Harper and Captain Decker, in particular, looked for classic cavemen.

“But the locals are resistant, our ancient cousins are behaving stupidly, and there are Elenar reported in the area.” One of the Gott-Druk complained as he counted off his fingers.

A second Gott-Druk, the evident leader of the group quieted his fellow. He held up a device of some kind. He pressed some buttons and looked into a screen. “An ancient Ankaron Battleship. I don’t think we even have one of those in a museum.” He turned his device off and reassured his comrade. “You could take it down with a handgun.”

“Still, there is the one favored by the powers of the earth. He has already cost our cousins dearly.” The Gott-Druk counted a fourth finger.

“Yes,” the leader said. “But if we can eliminate him and take down the Elenar, the first plan may yet go forth as ill-conceived.”

The third one spoke. “But if the first plan succeeds, we may never be born.”

“Worth the risk,” the leader said as he lifted his device and punched some more buttons. He lowered it and scanned 180 degrees of the forest where the travelers were hiding. “But come. We are too out in the open here.”

The others looked. “I see nothing,” one said, but the leader moved off and the others were obliged to follow.

Captain Decker and Roland cautioned everyone to remain silent. They led them through the trees, and not in a straight line. Roland scouted up front to pick out the trail and Captain Decker watched the rear. They went a mile beyond the carving in the clearing before Roland let anyone speak.

“What were they on about?” Katie Harper wanted to know.

“I met the Elenar in the future—back home,” Lockhart said. “They are like Cro-Magnon, maybe Denisovan and if not the enemies of the Gott-Druk, they are watchers at least determined to make sure the Neanderthals don’t come back and try to retake the earth.”

“I see,” Boston said. “But where would the human race fit, if the Neanderthals were successful, I mean, in retaking the earth?”

“We would not fit,” Lockhart said.

“Or become a permanent slave underclass,” Mingus suggested.

“Well, one thing.” Lincoln spoke up. “I suspect the favored of the gods is the Kairos and if the Gott-Druk plan is to eliminate him, it might be a good idea if we find him first.”

“Right.” Boston spoke with some vigor. “This way.” She had the amulet out and pointed. Roland joined her at the front.

After hardly another mile, they came to the sea, and not the best beach in the world. In fact, the jungle marched right down to the water in several places where they saw a ledge. They could see where the waves were digging the dirt out from beneath the trees and imagined there might be a beach someday, but not yet.

“I thought we might find a village,” Alexis said. Lincoln shrugged. Roland, Mingus, and the marines kept quiet. Boston shook the amulet the way Doctor Procter used to shake it.

“What?” Lockhart asked.

“The amulet points straight out to sea, twenty miles.”

“Nautical miles?” Captain Decker asked.

“Let me see,” Lockhart imitated Boston’s curious attitude and she showed him. “But it is a little to the south. Let’s try this way. Maybe there is a peninsula or something.

“Not on Malta,” Katie shook her head.

“Another island?” Boston turned to face the marine.

“No,” Lincoln answered. “There are two or so other islands in the Malta group, but they are north, not south.”

“The woods!” Roland spoke sharply again, and everyone jumped. An airship of some sort came into view. It sounded plenty noisy, like driven by an internal combustion engine, and it flew low and slow across the water. Lockhart and Lincoln agreed it had to be a shuttle, probably four to six passengers plus crew.

“Surgical strike,” Captain Decker suggested.

“Hurry!” Lockhart said, and they hurried south in the wake of that ship.

“Hold.” Captain Decker threw his hand up when they got close, and no one argued. They peeked out from behind the trees. They could see smoke from fires high in the sky and guessed it had to be the village, but they saw no houses because of the small hill that blocked their view.

The airship looked to have more in common with a glider or navy seaplane than a spaceship from their angle. It landed on the water, skidded, bounced, and slid to a stop, like a rock might skip across the surface of a lake. The Gott-Druk climbed out. There were six, and they wore something like rubber mukluks that allowed their short, squat bodies to scramble to the shore without a serious wetting.

Lockhart started to rise. He had in mind to talk it out, but Roland held him down. The three Gott-Druk in orange came out from the trees to meet the newcomers on the shore, and the first words out of the orange leader’s mouth were not kind.

“Idiots! How are we going to surprise anyone when you come blundering in with your noisy antique? Did it occur to you to stop up shore and walk here, quietly?”

“Elder,” One of the other orange men spoke. “Look at these primitive weapons.” He pointed at his fellow Gott-Druk and the handguns they carried.

“Better than the sticks and stones we will be facing.” The leader ignored his fellow to give out his instructions. “Kill everyone, males, females, and children. That is the only way you idiots will not miss him.”

“Right,” Lockhart nodded to Roland and instead of getting up, he pulled his shotgun up to sight. Captain Decker already had his up. Lieutenant Harper, Boston, and Lincoln readied themselves. Roland unhooked his sword but got his bow ready.

Avalon 1.8 The First City part 4 of 4

October 9, 2025August 31, 2025M G Kizzia Leave a comment

Everyone had plenty to eat and plenty of beef as things got back to normal, except Risah sat with the children for the rest of the evening, something unheard of. The beef left over from the tables, got promptly worked by the cooks to preserve for lunch on the following day, but Dantu would not let Risah get up and help.

At the head table, the travelers were fascinated by the entertainment. Anenki sat between Bashte and Gagrena and had a hard time staying straight in the middle. He wanted to lean in Bashte’s direction and away from the woman who would not leave him alone.

Gagrena focused all her attention on Anenki. She spoke cold and civil words to Lili, clearly despised Niudim and ignored Nanna because Nanna was not hers. The rest might as well have been invisible. The woman fawned on Anenki. She kept touching him, his hand, his arm, like they were lovers of old. Everyone figured she wanted the best deal she could get for her city, Uruk, and she willingly used her looks and sex to get it.

Anenki tried to be polite, but he could not always help himself. Gagrena’s ego appeared boundless, so perhaps she did not notice that whenever she touched him, Anenki turned up his nose. When asked, Gagrena admitted she had not dedicated her city to any particular god. She was a woman who believed that the purpose of everyone in the world was to serve her so after that, it did not really matter. Boston acted surprised she had not built a temple to herself and later regretted that she put the idea in the woman’s mind.

“Nanna.” Bashte finally spoke into the void. Nanna started yawning again. “Let’s go check and see that the children are in bed.” Anenki grabbed Bashte’s hand, but Bashte simply said, “You will be fine,” and she let go. Everyone paused to watch them go and then Gagrena spoke.

“We finally got rid of the nursemaid.”

“Not at all,” Anenki responded. He had just about reached his limit of politeness. “She is my good wife, my living wife as opposed to my dead one.” Back when Gagrena first left Anenki, he counted her as dead. He had not mentioned it in many years but just then he could not help himself. Gagrena did not look put off.

“Anenki, I worry about you. You are not as strong as you think. You need a woman beside you, a real woman.”

“I have one, thank you.”

Gagrena frowned ever so slightly as she took his hand and tried to catch his eyes. “I just wanted you to know that I am here for you, just like we were meant to be from the beginning. I would hate to see you all alone; I mean if something should ever happen to young Bashte.”

Lincoln, Lockhart, Katie and Mingus all sat up straight. Anenki looked at them, looked at Gagrena and jumped out of his chair. “Bashte!” He ran for the stairs. The others followed. Lockhart pulled the pistol he wore at his side. Captain Decker brought the rifle that never got out of his reach. Lincoln grabbed the wicked looking knife with which he had cut the big servings of beef. Roland pulled his sword as they ran.

The children were huddled in one bed, crying. Gagrena’s little army of seven men were all there in the big room. Bashte was there too, down on the floor. She did not appear to be bleeding or unconscious, but her hand went to the back of her head where she got struck. Nanna had her hands up, and that made a small shield against the men. She could easily deflect a spear, but she had no confidence of holding the men if they decided to rush her all at once. No one said, wait or what are you doing, or let’s talk about this. Lockhart and Captain Decker simply fired. Lincoln threw his knife and put his man down—a talent no one knew he had. Roland also put his man down easily with the sword. The other five went down just as fast. Captain Decker got three to Lockhart’s two.

The children screamed at the noise. Nanna dropped her hands and her jaw. Doctor Mishka spoke up from the floor because Anenki had gone away, and the good doctor had taken his place to make sure Bashte did not have a concussion.

“Men and guns. How sick I am of such things,” Mishka said. “Nanna, help your Mama to walk over to the children.”

“Yes, Doctor,” Nanna said, to what was obviously a familiar face. She helped Bashte stand as the rest of the crew piled into the room, which suddenly did not seem so big. Doctor Mishka immediately took Alexis to see which of the men might be saved. She instructed Boston and Katie to staunch the bleeding on the two who only looked wounded while she quickly checked the two who were clearly dead. They saved the other five, though the one with the shattered knee would never walk well again.

“Anenki?” Gagrena straggled in at the end of the line. It took her a moment to realize what happened.

“Here,” Mishka said. She did not have time to play games.

“Where?” Gagrena wondered, before she looked twice at the doctor. This was not the first time she had seen Anenki become a different person, and not even the first time she saw him become a woman. “I am glad you are all right.”

“Bull.” Mishka got in her face. “Anenki is too polite. Let me tell you something. On your own, you are a danger to yourself and to others. You know, in the Soviet days we lock up people like you for your own protection and for ours.”

“What if she had someone to watch over her?” A voice spoke up near the bed where the children had quieted in Bashte and Nanna’s arms. A woman’s voice spoke, one that could only be described as perfect, and it turned every head in the room. Most that could, including the travelers, went straight to their knees at this vision of holy beauty. Gagrena became terribly frightened and fell to her face.

“Inmama.” Little Nippur called and reached out, and Innan picked up the child, kissed her, and held her for a moment on her hip.

“Someone to watch over her might work,” Mishka said. “It would be a headache though.” She went straight back to work on the wounded. That was what she was there for.

Innan appeared to shrug. She raised her free hand and the bullets all extracted themselves. “I believe these are yours,” she said, as the bullets set themselves in front of Lockhart and Captain Decker.

“Yes, er, thank you.”

“That was remarkable to watch.” Innan looked over the dead and wounded and clicked her tongue.

“Yes.” Mishka poked her head up once more. “You can tell Enki and Enlil that in the future, the human race becomes very efficient at war and killing. That should help them since they have now been given oversight for war. And you…” But it is too early in the game for a rogue city, and maybe a war. “Let us get closer to a dozen cities, get trade going and all that first, I think.”

“Wise as always,” Innan said. She handed Nippur back to her Mama, gave Bashte a sisterly kiss on the cheek and stepped up to Gagrena who trembled and dared not look up from the floor. Mishka noticed before she went back to work. It sometimes felt hard for the Kairos to remember just what the fear of the gods could do to a person. It could transform them, though she doubted anything would transform Gagrena in the long term.

“I will take your city of Uruk,” Innan said. “I am sure Anenki will help us get things on the right foot. Meanwhile, a temple would be nice. Enlil and Enki both say there is nothing like it.” Innan put her finger to her cheek to think. “And now I have to ask.” She stepped up to Lockhart. “Why are you here? You don’t belong here.”

Lockhart’s tongue refused to work in the presence of the goddess of desire. Fortunately, Mingus and Roland were most respectful, but being spiritual creatures themselves, they were not affected by the goddess in quite the same way as the humans.

“We are travelers through time,” Roland offered a more thorough description than Lockhart usually offered. “We will be moving on in a day or two.”

“And this one?” Innan snapped her finger and a ghoul appeared beside her. The ghoul’s face looked expressionless. It appeared unable to move or speak. “He also does not belong. I don’t suppose this is one of yours.”

“Not ours, Lady” Mingus answered. “But I believe he may have been the source of the poison, earlier.”

Innan smiled which just about caused several people to faint from her beauty. “The elder elf is wise. I think we need not retain this one.” She waved in the ghoul’s direction and the ghoul skipped the dying part. He turned straight to a misty green smoke and left only a green smudge on the floor. “And now, my children.” Innan clapped her hands and she, Gagrena and the seven dead and wounded from the floor all vanished.

“Hey!” Only Doctor Mishka protested. “I wasn’t finished with that one yet.”

“A ghoul scout.” Mingus shook his head. “That means there are nine more out there.”

“Eighty-nine,” Boston corrected.

************************

MONDAY

The Elders, another 4-part episode so another Thursday post. Be prepared and read as the Travelers from Avalon find spaceships on Malta and people who are there who threaten history and plan to ruin the future. Until Monday, Happy Reading

Avalon 1.8 The First City part 3 of 4

October 8, 2025August 31, 2025M G Kizzia Leave a comment

The travelers gathered early for supper, full of guarded praise for Anenki’s little city. “A bit too communal for my tastes,” Captain Decker summed up the consensus of the freedom-loving Americans.

“Of necessity,” Anenki responded. “Before we began it was anarchy. I mean, most people were nice and helped their neighbors when they could, but ultimately it was every man for himself. Now, in order to make the kind of division of labor a city needs, it has to be communal. You want a man to spend his days working in clay, not soil. But he is thinking he has to grow crops and hunt and fish and tend to his goats and oxen to feed his family and have some to trade. That way very little time can be spent on the clay. So we guarantee, as well as we can, that he will receive the food he needs for his family, and the cloth or clothing and whatever else may be necessary so he can concentrate on the clay. We have to be communal to do that. You might call it excessively high taxes.”

“I understand,” Katie Harper spoke up. “It makes sense to me, at least. Sumer was marked with a more communal kind of living than later civilizations.”

“Remember, we are transitioning,” Anenki added. “To be honest, I think Marx got it completely backwards. Communism was really the first step, not the last. Capitalism only developed with a money economy, but that won’t happen for, what, three thousand and some years.”

Several women interrupted by placing trays of fruit and vegetables on all the tables. Some of the people began to come into the banquet hall as well, talking and laughing in their own little groups.

“Tell me about your guest, if you don’t mind.” Lockhart finally asked the question everyone had been avoiding. Anenki glanced at Bashte who encouraged him without a word.

“All right,” he said, and set himself to hold nothing back. “About twelve years ago when we were first starting out, some of the motivation to build a city where people could live safe and secure was because of one man. Nogao had convinced a number of people it was easier to take the labor of others than do the work themselves.”

“Thief,” Lockhart said quietly. Anenki nodded.

“Well, we just got things going and he showed up with more than a hundred followers to try and take over the whole work.”

“Don’t tell me, egged on by Gagrena,” Alexis said.

“Sweetheart,” Lincoln reached for her hand. He imagined she might be wrong accusing the woman.

“Sorry, she just reminds me of the type of personality that I despise in women.”

“You have very good insights,” Bashte said, to confirm the accuracy of the accusation.

“Yeah, they give all women a bad name,” Boston added.

Anenki nodded the whole time, but then they all paused again as two men carried in half a bull for the main table. There were roasts brought in for the other tables as well and the room started filling up.

“Where is Gagrena?” Bashte asked.

“Fashionably late?” Alexis suggested.

“Wanting to make a grand entrance,” Anenki nodded again.

“Anyway,” Lockhart wanted back to the story.

“Anyway, Nogao got killed. I killed him, and his people were left leaderless. My brother Agur took most of them with some well-trained experts in the various disciplines and went north, back to the Tigris where we originally found him. He started a second city, one that Enlil named after our baby, Nippur.”

“We chiefly worship Enki in Eridu,” Bashte said.

Anenki cut off the questions with a simple word. “I flipped a coin, so to speak. Besides, Agur had met Enlil, and the god had always been associated more with the Tigris and Enki with the Euphrates, so it all worked out.”

“Except for Gagrena,” Katie pointed out. “I take it she did not follow your brother.”

“No,” Anenki said the word with an underline. “She was not about to have any man rule over her. Not even Enlil. She took about a third of the group and broke away to build her own place. She calls it Uruk. It is on the Euphrates, but upriver approaching half-way between Eridu and Nippur.” Anenki’s voice trailed off and silence fell only interrupted by Lincoln tapping his knife gently on the table.

“Where is that woman?” Lincoln asked.

“Hungry?”

“That beef smells great.”

“Why not cut yourself a steak?” Captain Decker offered.

“Wait,” Anenki held up his hand. “It is polite to wait. Though maybe I should eat before she gets here. She will just give me indigestion.”

“You don’t like her much,” Boston understated the case.

Anenki countered. “Actually, I feel sorry for her. She has been at me all afternoon about how she misses me, and we really had a good thing and she foolishly let me get away. I would say she is trying to put the moves on me, and she is still rather nice to look at. But you know, now that I am not a teenager with hormones ruining my brain, I can see that she does not lie very well at all.”

“Father,” Lili spoke up. “Maybe I should fetch Mother.”

Anenki did not have time to answer because his sister Dantu came in with Risah in her arms. “Anenki!” She shouted. “Don’t eat the roast!” Risah collapsed to the ground.

Everyone moved, but Alexis got there first. She laid her hands over Risah, and that familiar glow appeared for those who could see it. “She has been poisoned,” Alexis announced in the sudden silence of that big room.

“Keep back, give them room.” Captain Decker and Lockhart had to play police officers.

“Maybe I can draw it out of her,” Alexis suggested. She began to work with her hands. No one saw Gagrena come into the room, but when she realized what was going on, they all heard her.

“You are trying to kill me!”

Bashte jumped. “You are not stupid. If we wanted to harm you, we would not test it out on Anenki’s sister.”

A sudden flash of darkness rose-up and knocked Alexis back on her rump. “Magically protected,” she managed to say as she rushed her hand to her head to fight the dizzy feeling.

“Nanna!” Anenki immediately called for his daughter, the daughter of the goddess Innan.

“Me? Daddy?”

“You can do it. I’m right here, but right now you are the only one who can do it.”

“Daddy?”

“Hurry, please,” Dantu pleaded.

Anenki brought Nanna to Risah and had her kneel. When he let go, Nanna closed her eyes and put her hands out like Alexis. Nanna’s glow looked much richer, much fuller and more golden in color. They saw the darkness come up and push against her hands. Nanna shrieked, but Anenki laid a hand on her shoulder and encouraged her.

“You can do this. You are stronger than any darkness. Get angry.”

Nanna got angry, and the darkness cracked and broke and blew away on the wind.

“Son, your hand,” Mingus said, and Roland gave it. “Concentrate,” Mingus added as he reached down and snatched Alexis’ bone wand. He waved it slowly in the air, twice and then gave it a sharp jerk. A pale blue light popped from the wand, like a globe of light. It began to float around the room, slowly at first before it got up a good head of steam. It went from table to table, separated twice and came back together before it finally lighted on the roast at the head table. The whole roast glowed soft blue before the darkness came out of the roast and swallowed the light.

“Only our roast is poisoned,” Roland said, as Mingus paused to catch his breath.

By then, Alexis had gotten up to coach Nanna. “There it is,” Alexis said. “All gathered in one place. Now raise your hands, slowly.” Nanna did, and a small drop of something came right out of Risah’s body. It followed Nanna’s hands into the air. Nanna squealed.

“I did it. I did it.”

Anenki handed Alexis a cup in which she caught the drop, while Bashte hugged Nanna,

“Mama, I did it!” Nanna hugged her back.

“I’m so proud of you,” Bashte said.

As Risah began to come around, Lili, who had knelt beside Dantu and held Dantu’s hand, looked up at Bashte. Bashte put her other arm around Lili and kissed her cheek as well. “I’m proud of all my children,” she said before she apologized to Dantu. “I’m sorry I don’t have another arm for you.” Dantu looked up and nodded, but her eyes were full of tears, and she had no words.

“And you too.” Bashte let go of Nanna and Lili to give Niudim a big hug. The young man understood enough to know he almost lost his aunt Risah, and he was in tears as well. Nanna and Lili also went to him and joined in a kind of group hug.

“Ah, the power of love,” Anenki said, and turned to face Gagrena. “True love conquers all.” Anenki paused. “Did I just say that?”

“Yes, you did,” Lockhart responded from the table where he and Captain Decker were lifting the roast on its tray. Lincoln and several of the men were there to help. They intended to bury the beast somewhere out of town.

“But I hate clichés,” Anenki finished.

“This far back it probably isn’t a cliché yet.” Katie Harper grinned.

“But father,” Roland turned to Mingus. “Who would do such a thing?” In answer, they heard an angry moan come from beneath their feet. Lockhart and Decker had to shuffle their hands to keep from dropping the roast. It sounded like someone was very frustrated.

************************

THURSDAY…

Don’t miss tomorrow’s conclusion of the story.

Avalon 1.8 The First City part 2 of 4

October 7, 2025August 31, 2025M G Kizzia Leave a comment

The travelers slept around the campfire that night. No one said anything in particular or suggested it, but everyone felt the same. It was that feeling that they were being watched, and that feeling would not go away easily. They all felt the need for company and the need to watch each other’s backs.

When the stars glistened and the moon rose, Boston woke up feeling antsy. She felt like she missed something, but her hand went straight to the amulet and found it hanging around her neck where she had vowed to always keep it. She thought that perhaps she missed something in her backpack, so she got up as quietly as she could and inched to her tent. The tent flap was closed. When she opened it, she screamed. Two dog-yellow eyes peered back at her.

Everyone woke and hurried to her. But she watched as the eyes darted to the side. Boston almost looked in the same direction though nothing could be seen through the tent. Then the eyes sank into the ground. Lockhart and Katie arrived in time to see the last bit of the eyes before they vanished in the dirt. Then they heard the sound of thunder.

“That’s the river!” Lincoln shouted, drawing on some memory from his years in the CIA before he came to work for the men in black.

“Make for higher ground!” Alexis shouted, and they started for the temple they had seen earlier in the day. Boston tried for the palace, but Lockhart and Roland combined to drag her to the temple steps.

“Someone has to warn Anenki,” Boston protested.

“Can’t worry about that now,” Lockhart said, as he shoved her up the lowest set of steps. The temple consisted of five terrace layers of solid bricks. Each layer stood a man’s height and set back a man’s height in distance from the lower level. The fifth and topmost level looked about the size of a house. It was, in fact, the actual temple part, where priests sacrificed the animals on a stone slab, and dedicated the fruits in season to Enki, god of Eridu.

When everyone got to the temple, they saw the water. It looked like a black snake against the ground. Curiously, it kept its shape even when driven out of its banks. It curved and ran right over their camp. It extinguished the fire there and came on to the temple. It crashed against the bricks and shook the structure, but the temple seemed to be too much for the river, and the travelers had climbed too high up to reach.

A man came out of the building when the water arrived. After one good crash against the bottom most layers of the step pyramid, the man waved his hand. The waters obeyed some imperative and turned away. They rushed right past the front door of the palace and reentered the riverbed. No further water came from the river after that.

“Looks like you have a bug problem,” the man said. “Like a cockroach, you know.” He pushed his glasses up on his face and smiled. That action got the ones close enough to see in the dark to raise their collective eyebrows. What was a Neolithic man doing with eyeglasses?

“A present from Anenki,” the man answered their unasked question and vanished.

“What?” Boston wondered.

“Enki, I presume,” Lockhart responded.

“I think he means the bokarus,” Roland responded differently. “The cockroach, I mean.”

“Darn.” Lincoln walked up to join the group. “And for once I was having a good dream. Now all our stuff is going to be soaked.

Their stuff, as Lincoln called it, turned out to be in place, dry and the technology all functioned normally. Their tents were amazingly still up, and the fire got relit. “Enki went to great lengths to be thorough,” Lincoln commented.

“Yes, thanks,” Lockhart said with a look to the sky. He explained to Boston’s curious face. “It never hurts to be polite.”

“Exactly,” Lincoln agreed. “Thank you. I recall from the stick people what it means to get on the wrong side of the gods.”

“Oh, Lincoln,” Alexis protested and dragged him off. “I was trying to forget about all that.”

Everyone slept well after that. They felt that if they were being watched, they were also being watched over by someone far more capable than a bokarus cockroach.

~~~*~~~

When the morning came, they felt refreshed and after some fake coffee, they trooped down to the cooking fires.

Risah, already up and moving, worked on the luncheon for their coming guest. Lili was there with Nanna and Niudim, but Lili presently talked with a young man. When Alexis and Boston walked up, Lili introduced Gordon who said he was pleased to meet them and promptly decided he had better get to work. Alexis and Boston both watched Lili as Lili watched Gordon leave.

“He seems very nice,” Alexis said, as they went to join the others. Lili only smiled and nodded. Her tongue seemed tied.

Nanna, though, had no trouble talking. “Gordon, Gordon. It is all I hear.”

“Oh?” Boston got nosey. “A boyfriend, or maybe more?” Lili turned a little red.

“No way,” Nanna shook her head. “At least not until Gordon finds the courage to speak to Daddy.”

“Nanna!” Lili scolded her little sister, but Nanna thought it was funny, so Lili stomped off to help Aunt Risah with the mush.

“Careful,” Alexis spoke wisely. “It will be your turn one day.” Nanna paused but shook her head. That day seemed an eternity away. She responded typical of the way teenagers thought.

They all ate the mush. The gruel did not taste like grits or oatmeal or cream of wheat, exactly. It tasted like mush, helped with a little fruit on top, but not helped much. Lockhart gladly set his aside when he saw Anenki and Bashte arrive. They cooed at each other like they were the only two people in the world. Alexis and Boston sighed to see them, but Nanna thought it was gaggy.

“I mean, they are so old,” Nanna said.

“Good morning.” Niudim said and waved, like they were far away. Actually, nothing in Eridu was that far away as the morning proved. Anenki gave the travelers the grand tour, as he called it. They got done in an hour and ended up at the irrigation camp.

“Kiluk,” Anenki pointed. “He is the chief of the irrigation project. Presently he and his staff are setting the minimum standards for plowing new fields. As the city grows, we will need to cultivate more and more land.”

“Standards?” Katie asked.

“Sure,” Anenki smiled for her and waited for Lincoln to catch up in his notes. “Right now, innovation is highly prized. We are all trying new things and looking for ways to do things. But we need to set the standards to make sure the best ideas are not forgotten. In a generation, standards will become rules and we will be able to make improvements, but innovation will be harder. Another generation, and rules will become regulation as we give birth to inspectors. By the third generation, regulations will become traditions, and then innovation will be very difficult.”

“As quick as that?” Lincoln asked.

Anenki nodded. “About a hundred and fifty years, or so.”

Kiluk waved to the visitors and limped over to talk to a man. Alexis noticed and felt more concerned with the limp. “Crippled?”

“Since birth,” Anenki confirmed. “People like Kiluk and Niudim are one of the main reasons I agreed to build the first city. Normally, I don’t interfere like this. It isn’t safe, given all I know about the future. But in this case, I have innovated nothing. I just made it possible.”

“I suppose in the old days the life expectancy for someone like Kiluk would not be good,” Katie suggested.

“Or Niudim, or anyone who got old,” Anenki confirmed. “Now, at least they have a chance—for a few generations anyway.”

“I understand,” Lockhart said, and as they wandered over to the temple, Anenki heard all about the river in the night.

Anenki looked at the temple. Some of the bricks crumbled and several looked more like mush than bricks. “But hey, Duban is still working on the formula. Innovation, remember?”

~~~*~~~

Gagrena arrived close to three in the afternoon. She came into town seated in a plush chair, carried on the shoulders of four rather large men. Seven men followed her carrying spears like a kind of honor guard. Another dozen people came after that, women mostly, to attend to Gagrena’s needs.

“Welcome to Eridu.” Bashte had to say it. Anenki wanted to say some other things. To be sure, Gagrena looked like a beautiful girl who had become a stunning woman, especially with all the pampering. But she had the personality of a snake, and she had a bad attitude about everyone. In short, she only thought about herself, and believed everyone else should think about her too.

“Anenki.” Gagrena smiled at him. “Put me down, put me down.” As soon as her feet touched, she rushed up and threw herself into Anenki’s arms. He gave her a hug before he extracted himself from her bear-like grasp. He drew a line at the kiss. He did not want her kissing even his cheek in a friendly greeting.

“Welcome to Eridu,” Bashte tried again.

“Yes you.” Gagrena acknowledged her at last. “The nursemaid. And how are the children?”

“They are wonderful,” Bashte answered with a friendly smile. “I am sure they would love to see you. Why don’t we visit them? We could spend the afternoon in playtime.”

The look of horror that crossed Gagrena’s face looked priceless. Anenki felt impressed. Bashte did not have to do anything except tell the truth and be sincere.

“I did not come here to play with the children,” Gagrena responded. “That is your job, isn’t it?”

“Oh, it’s not a job. It’s fun.” Bashte stepped up and kissed Anenki, and they shared some passion in that kiss. Anenki responded with his whole heart, which made it worse for Gagrena. Then Bashte wandered off slowly toward where the children were playing.

“So, what brings you to Eridu? I thought you and Pak were going to build your own city?”

Gagrena watched Bashte and steamed. She looked at the sky and offered a suggestion. “Can we go inside where it is more private?”

“Of course,” Anenki could be gracious. “But your people will have to stay out here.” He shrugged. “We have a nice place for you to spend the night. It is right beside the rooms for the children.” Gagrena paused. “Of course, if you would rather stay out here where you could be attended by your people, I will understand.”

Gagrena frowned and waved Anenki to go with her to the door. “Pak is an idiot,” she said. “I have to do everything myself.” Anenki knew that meant she made all the decisions. He well remembered their few years together. He felt sure that did not mean she did actual work. She would never lift a finger. “I am going to need some of your chief men for a while—just to teach my own people or my city will never be more than a big village.” Anenki understood. Eridu pioneered most of what would be needed to build and maintain a successful city. His only fear was once Gagrena got her hands on his experts, he might never get them back, alive.

Avalon 1.7 Peace and Prosperity part 3 of 3

October 1, 2025August 30, 2025M G Kizzia Leave a comment

Dayni led them all down the grasslands path for a short way before she turned on to a side path and reentered the jungle. The jungle did not seem as thick in that place and the path looked good as well, worn down by years of sheep. The clearing where the house sat looked barely inside the trees, like a border house between two lands. That turned out to be what it was. Dayni was of the jungle people. Vanu was born in the village on the grasslands, and their marriage brought those two tribes into peaceful relations, but neither Dayni nor Vanu wanted to live with his or her people.

“Just as well,” Dayni said, as she closed the gate to the pen where they kept the sheep in the night. She shook her head sadly at the mention of Vanu’s people and turned her nose up at her own.

“Lockhart!” The word came before they saw the young man. Dayni ran to him for a big hug and kiss. Gana ran a little slower, but he wanted to be picked up, and Vanu did just that, as he carried the boy to the door of his house.

“A front porch on a log house,” Katie Harper noted. “Aren’t you playing a little with history here?”

“A little,” Vanu admitted sheepishly. He, above all, was not supposed to do that. “But wait until you taste my barbeque sauce.”

“I could go for some of that,” Captain Decker admitted.

Vanu nodded. “No tomatoes, of course, but a pretty good recipe. I’ll invent it about a hundred years from now.”

“That’s my Kairos.” Lockhart smiled.

It became well after dark by the time they were all fed and ready to call it a night. Some lounged on the porch. Some sat down below on the grass. Gana sat in his mother’s lap and struggled to keep his eyes open. The stars came out by then, bright in the sky. The moon also came up, full. “It is the third and last night of the full moon,” Vanu said.

“What do you mean the last night?” Boston asked.

“I mean the last night with the moon full enough. You see, every time the moon goes full it is not just a one-night deal. There are three nights where there is enough power to make the wolf.”

“Werewolf?” Lincoln asked.

“No,” Mingus objected. “It is way too early in history for a Werewolf. The Were people are still present and haven’t mated with humans enough to pass on the genetic anomaly. And there is no record of the virus this far back.”

Vanu shook his head. “It is the only explanation. Ashtoreth must have thrown the poor man back this far to see if it was possible.”

“Were people?” Katie Harper had a different question.

Lincoln got out the database, but Mingus answered first. “Shape shifters. They were among the many people the gods brought from other worlds to fill the dead spaces. You humans were all bunched up around Ararat and the Plains of Shinar if you recall.”

“But the amulet is gone. Varuna protect us,” Dayni spoke, and looked up into the night sky.

“Ah, the amulet,” Alexis said. The topic had not come up. Vanu took Alexis’ words like a question.

“The amulet of peace and prosperity. My bloodstone ruby fashioned by the dwarfs in the mountains and endowed with the powers of peace and prosperity. It seemed to hold the beast at bay on the first two nights.”

“But you lost one sheep,” Roland said.

Vanu nodded but raised an eyebrow. “Dayni was bringing the flock home just after dark. The wolf caught the straggler. I am just happy it did not catch Dayni.” He reached for her hand, and she squeezed his.

“Let us hope the wolf is far away tonight,” Dayni said. It was not. As they were thinking and preparing to end the night, they heard it close. Captain Decker and Lieutenant Harper armed themselves. Lockhart got out his shotgun. It appeared on the other side of the clearing, drooling and snarling, and looking like it was trying to decide which human to kill first.

Decker and Harper both tried to fire at the werewolf, but the guns just went click, click. The same nothing happened with Lockhart’s shotgun. Roland had an arrow, but Vanu stopped the elf.

“It won’t do you any good unless you have a silver tip.” The wolf moved slowly and paced back and forth, looking for the best way to approach this killing spree. As it moved, the answer to why their guns did not work became apparent. The wolf was wearing the amulet.

“Oh that poor man,” Alexis breathed, thinking that surely the wolf killed the man. No one else got fooled. Clearly the wolf was the mad man in wolf form.

“Wait,” Vanu said. “I may be able to do something here.” He held his hand out and called to his stone. “The necklace was made, and the stone cut and fashioned by my little ones. I may have some power over it. He concentrated, and the amulet moved. It did not fly off the wolf and return to Vanu like Thor’s hammer might fly back to the hand of its owner, but it did wiggle. Then it began to glow. The glow in the stone increased, and it warmed.

“It is picking up the moonlight and amplifying it, like a laser,” Boston said.

At first, the wolf paused and appeared to enjoy basking in that glow, but the heat kept increasing, and after only a few moments, the wolf began to howl. It stood up on its hind legs, not exactly like a dog, and not like a man. Clearly, it could stand and be stable, and it could use its front paws like hands. The heat still increased, and they began to catch the smell of burning hair and flesh. The wolf began to scream, like no real wolf ever screamed, and it pushed the chain away as it wriggled its long snout through the necklace.

The amulet fell to the ground. The wolf eyed them warily before it spun around, fell to all fours, and darted back into the jungle. It left only a trail of the smell of burning flesh and hair for anyone to follow—not that anyone was so foolish. Vanu relaxed. He almost collapsed, but Alexis and Boston caught him. Lockhart, Lincoln, and Captain Decker all moved to retrieve the amulet, but there came a distant explosion that caused them to pause and shut their eyes.

The sudden flash of light left them seeing spots. Before anyone could clear their vision, two young men came crashing through the underbrush. They dove into the clearing, screaming. “Help! Save us!” A tiger came, chasing them. Curiously, the tiger stopped at the edge of the clearing and started to lick its paw, while the two young men crawled over to hide behind Vanu and Dayni.

“Dayus ordered me to eat them, you know.” The tiger spoke without moving its lips. Everyone heard clearly, and no one doubted it was the tiger speaking.

“You are welcome to have them,” Vanu said. People paused to look at him and wonder before all eyes returned to the tiger.

“Can’t. The amulet,” the tiger said. “Anyway, I told you once. I don’t like human meat. Too stringy and distasteful.” The tiger made a face. Everyone saw the disgust just before the tiger vanished.

“Look! There it is!” One of the young men shouted, and both made a dash for it as Lockhart, Decker, and Lincoln all jumped. None got it, because a man in ragged clothes stooped down and picked it off the ground. The ragged man eyed the amulet with some concern on his face while Dayni and Vanu went to their knees. The others joined them; the two young men last of all. They made up for their tardiness in reacting by falling all the way to their faces.

“You know, you should really keep a better watch on this,” the ragged man said, as he tossed the amulet back to Vanu. Vanu immediately handed it to Dayni who slipped it around her neck. Then another man showed up.

“What have you done?” he yelled at the raggedy man.

“I returned the amulet to its rightful owners,” the ragged man said, calmly. “Should I have not done that?” He sounded innocent enough.

The new arrival got hot. In fact, they all felt the heat. He turned on the crowd and shouted again. “What are these still doing here?” He pointed at the two on their faces.

“Ah,” the ragged man spoke like this was a question he could answer. “I believe the tiger said he could not eat them because of the amulet.” Alexis at least thought she saw steam rise from the other man.

“And who the hell are all these people?”

“Travelers,” the ragged man said. “They will be gone in the morning and out of our land before two days have passed.”

The other man paused while he looked around at the travelers. None of the travelers lifted their eyes. Then the man spoke to Lockhart, and Lockhart knew it even without looking. “Take these two with you,” the man said, and again Lockhart knew the man meant Vanu and Dayni even if it did not get spelled out. The man left in a flash of light so bright it rivaled the sun. In fact, it was the sun, the sun god, but fortunately, the ragged man did something to prevent everyone from being burnt and blinded.

“You two.” the ragged man spoke while people once again lifted their heads, except the two on their faces who began to tremble. “If you dare to touch that amulet again, I will be very angry. Just so you understand, I am not like Dayus. I do not have to follow the rules in order to maintain my position. I have ten thousand eyes in the night sky. I am always watching. If you so much as touch it, you will regret it.”

“Lord Varuna.” Vanu lowered his head in a bow. He wanted to be sure the two young men knew who was speaking to them.

“For the rest of you,” Varuna spoke in a different, light and airy voice, and he smiled. “Get your rest. The wolf will not bother you again tonight. But understand, none of us are authorized to end its life. You travelers were kind to it after a fashion. You healed it and fed it, and it now has your scent. It will no doubt follow you through your next time portal and beyond. At some point, I do not doubt you will have to deal with the man wolf. May the gods in that place be able to do more than I am allowed.” He vanished, and they were alone apart from the two, now humbled young men who joined them.

“You see. It is a man wolf like I said.” Mingus looked satisfied.

“A rose by any other name,” Alexis said.

“Not a help,” Lincoln countered. “Ghouls ahead of us, a werewolf following us.”

“Don’t forget the Bokarus,” Boston reminded everyone.

“I kind of hoped we lost that one and saw the last of it some time back,” Lincoln said.

“Don’t count on it,” Lockhart spoke quietly as he stood and brushed himself off to ready himself for bed.

************************

MONDAY

The First City is another 4-part episode so there will be a post again on Thursday. Anenki and Bashte entertain the travelers but they keep getting interrupted by the bokarus, the ghouls, and worst of all, Anenki’s ex-wife. MONDAY. Happy Reading.

Avalon 1.7 Peace and Prosperity part 2 of 3

September 30, 2025August 30, 2025M G Kizzia Leave a comment

“We found this one sleeping beside the path,” Captain Decker explained.

“Oh, but he needs help,” Alexis hurried forward to meet the man. The man took one look at her and shrieked. He tried to back up, to get away from her, but the Captain and Roland each had an arm, and they were not going to let go. “Lay him down and hold him,” Alexis ordered, and the men complied.

She stepped up then and the man struggled, but he could not escape. Alexis laid her hands a few inches from the man’s chest. A warm glow of golden light covered her hands and then covered the man. The cuts began to close and heal, and the bruises lightened in color and became less pronounced. With that, the man relaxed, and as Alexis worked, the man’s hand bent up at the elbow. Roland noticed and almost slapped the man’s hand down again, but the man did not reach for Alexis. He reached for the amulet, cupped it gently in his hand, and for the only time, smiled, his eyes only on the stone, and he said one word, “Pretty”—the only word he ever spoke.

Mingus stepped up as Alexis finished. He had a bit of fairy weave and made a loincloth grow around the man’s private parts. Lockhart had another thought.

“We don’t have a strait jacket. Handcuffs would not help.”

“Lockhart?” Several sets of eyes turned to him and wondered why he thought such things. Obviously, the man had been mistreated and driven mad.

“My thoughts, exactly.” Captain Decker had no trouble understanding what Lockhart had in mind. He produced some rope from his own backpack, and since the man lay on his stomach so Alexis could heal his back, he took advantage of that and grabbed the man’s hands. He tied them securely and lifted the man to his feet. The man made noises at him. He growled and whimpered at having his hands tied, but no one set him free.

“Move out,” Lockhart said, and they found they had to drag the man with them at first to get him to move at all.

After a couple of hours on the path through the jungle, they found a clearing large enough to stop for a late lunch. Man, as they called him, got good after a while. He stumbled along with the pack and only turned his head at sounds. He paused now and then to sniff at the air. He drooled now and then, but never showed any sign of comprehension in his eyes. Estimates got revised. Man was entirely mad. Obviously, he could not have been born mad or he would have never survived his childhood. Something must have happened, and all anyone could think was it must have been horrendous.

By lunchtime, Man was taking some simple orders. Lockhart told him to sit, and Man sat. Lockhart felt inclined to treat Man more like a dog than a human. Alexis, Boston, and Lincoln all imagined him more like a three-year-old, albeit one that was not yet verbal. Captain Decker just seemed glad Man was willing to take orders.

After lunch, Alexis excused herself. Outside of the general comments about not wandering far, Lockhart imagined no immediate danger. Lincoln added, “Watch out for snakes,” but that had become his mantra, and no one paid much attention except to be a bit more careful.

Back in the trees, Alexis paused and fingered the amulet. She held it and studied it as deeply as she could with all of her senses. It looked and felt ordinary enough. No human would give it a second thought apart from the size and beauty of the precious stone. The stone looked like a blood red ruby. She felt sure it was, and a ruby the size of her fist. When she looked with her magical senses on full alert, she felt the power. It felt way beyond anything she could comprehend, much less duplicate. She did not feel surprised the gods themselves could be stymied by the thing.

“Alexis!” Lincoln called from the camp.

“I’m fine. I’ll be right back,” she shouted. She smiled to think he worried about her. He spent two years looking for her after she vanished. He really did love her. She decided that if he was having trouble adjusting to the two of them being young again, she could wait, however long it took.

Alexis took the amulet off and laid it out carefully beside her. She did not want to get it dirty. When she squatted, she got a surprise. Man came racing through the bushes. Somehow, he freed his hands. Alexis glimpsed the rope burns and would not have been surprised if he scraped off strips of skin to get free. He snatched up the amulet before Alexis could catch her breath and he disappeared into the jungle.

Alexis hurriedly pulled herself together as the others came running. “He went that way,” she shouted and pointed. “And he stole the amulet.”

“What?” Mingus turned on her. “Why didn’t you stop him?”

Alexis frowned. “I was not exactly in a position to stop anyone.”

Lockhart had no recriminations. He simply pointed to Roland and Captain Decker. The captain jumped through the brush in one direction, and Roland picked a slightly altered course. Then they had nothing to do but wait. Boston, Mingus, and Lockhart spread out in case Man doubled back. Alexis set a magical barrier at some distance down the path on either side so she would be alerted if anyone came their way. They waited, and about two hours later Captain Decker and Roland returned together with a negative report.

“There is a river some distance from here. He could have easily run the whole way and jumped in. After that, there would be no way to follow him.” Captain Decker shook his head.

“There is a way,” Roland disagreed, respectfully. “But I found no evidence of that.”

“Get your stuff,” Lockhart said. “Let’s find out where this trail takes us, hopefully before dark.”

~~~*~~~

It did not take long to get to the edge of the jungle. A broad field of sweet green grass spread out in front of them and continued for a good stretch before it came to some distant rock covered hills. The trail split there. It ran along the tree line in both directions—an odd sight. It looked like the jungle simply stopped and the trees stood like soldiers at attention. The line looked straight and made a sharp demarcation between tree land and the grassland.

“Way?” Lockhart asked, knowing they had followed the trail and not strictly the amulet. They might have been turned around.

“This way,” Boston pointed to their right. Roland stared to their left.

“Smoke, I think,” he said. “Probably cooking fires. Maybe a village.”

Mingus squinted but saw nothing, so he took a great whiff of air instead. He shook his head. “Wind is not from that direction.”

“We follow the green arrow,” Lockhart decided. No one argued. They walked quietly, and about an hour before sunset, they found the sheep. They smelled them first before they saw them. As they came up close, a woman stood from the shadow of the trees.

“Hello.” The woman stepped into the light. She looked young, about Boston’s current age of around twenty-three. She had a three or four-year-old that clung shyly to the back of her dress and she looked pregnant besides. “Are you hungry and thirsty? Please, you must come stay the night with us.” The petite young woman glanced at the sun. “It is not safe right now to be out in the dark. Please.”

“Yes, thank you very much,” Alexis spoke out loud, because Lockhart merely took his own glance at the sun before he nodded.

“Oh, wonderful.” The woman looked pleased. “Come Gana.” She pulled the boy from behind. “Say hello.” The boy merely stared at the strangers. “My husband will be very happy to have visitors. He only has me to listen to most of the time, and he says that is all he needs, but I know he will be happy to have a change in conversation. He knows so much, but he has no one to talk to. Sometimes it keeps him awake at night and sometimes it gives him a headache. Do you know what I mean, headache?”

“That can’t be good.” Katie Harper stepped up to take the point with Boston.

“Oh,” The woman said with the biggest smile seen in a long time. “I know how to cure a headache.” She patted her stomach. Alexis and Katie smiled.

“I wouldn’t know about that,” Boston said, but she found her eyes wander over to look at Roland. The elf looked at the sheep.

“Children!” The woman called and several sheep bleated and began to follow as she walked. “My name is Dayni,” she said. Several people stopped, so the rest stopped. Lincoln said it.

“So, of course. Your husband is Vanu.”

Roland had another thought. “You’re the one those two fools on the trail were afraid of?”

Dayni did not seem to hear. She shouted at her stray. “You, too, Lumpy. You better come if you don’t want to be supper.” The sheep let out a loud Baa of protest, but it came from the edge of the trees and rejoined the herd on the path.

Avalon 1.7 Peace and Prosperity part 1 of 3

September 29, 2025August 30, 2025M G Kizzia Leave a comment

After 4289 BC in the foothills of Kashmir. Kairos 14: Vanu

Recording …

Boston sat by the fire and alternately stared at the amulet and Roland. She did not know what to say to the elf, but she felt she ought to say something. Lincoln inherited the database from Boston and found the place for taking notes.

“Beats my notebook,” he remarked casually. Alexis simply nodded as the howl came again. Her eyes got drawn to the sky while her ears tried to judge the direction and distance.

“Full moon,” Katie noted.

“Don’t start,” Lincoln looked up from his notes. Lockhart laughed, but Mingus waved off the laughter.

“There may be something to that,” he said. “But I would think we are too early for a man wolf.”

“Werewolf, father.” Roland and Alexis both corrected the elder elf.

“Man wolf. Were wolf. Anyway, it is too early in history. The Were people still have a strong presence in several places around the globe. The disease and genetic component responsible for that rarest of troubles won’t connect for a thousand years, maybe two or three thousand.”

The howl came again. It sounded closer, but not by much.

“Well, I do not think there are regular wolves in this part of the world,” Lincoln said.

“Ah!” Mingus raised a knowing finger. “But again, this far in the past may prove different. We might find elephants stretching all the way from Africa to India in unbroken herds, even across the plains of Saudi Arabia, before the land there turns to dust and the elephant herds separate, India to Africa.”

“I recommend we watch in the night,” Captain Decker interrupted.

“Father, you are very talkative tonight.” Alexis shifted her seat to sit beside the elf while Lockhart considered the captain’s suggestion.

“Just thinking of my old friend, Procter. I am sorry you did not get to know him the way he really was. He should have been babbling and rambling and sharing all this sort of information all along. He could be very annoying, but he was a likeable fellow. He was likeable.”

Alexis leaned in and kissed her father on the cheek while Lockhart stood. “Team watch,” he said. He knew everyone felt exhausted from lack of sleep over the past couple of days, but he did not spend all those early years on the police force for nothing. His instincts were acting up. Something did not feel right. Team watch put Lincoln and Alexis up first. Mingus and Lockhart got the dark of the night. Captain Decker and Roland watched through the wee hours and Katie and Boston got the dawn shift. A single watch of an hour or two each through the night would have let everyone get more rest, but something tweaked Lockhart’s nerves. Lockhart glanced at Katie, and she nodded as if to say it did not feel right to her, too.

The howl came a third time, but this time it sounded further away.

The morning arrived without incident, but Lockhart’s feelings would not go away easily. Someone had to be engaged in something criminal and dangerous, and not too far away. Katie handed him a cup of herbal coffee to help. He said thanks, but honestly, the coffee was something he still had to get used to.

The travelers did not go far that morning before they came to a jungle. They had to spread out a bit, as each tried to find the path of least resistance through the thick undergrowth.

“Don’t move out of sight and sound,” Lockhart ordered.

“And watch out for snakes,” Lincoln added. He imagined the place was full of monster pythons and cobras.

An hour in, and the elves stopped still.

“Leopard?” Mingus suggested. Their good ears picked up something the others did not hear.

Roland shook his head. “Tiger, I believe.” Most thought that was worse. Tigers sometimes became man-eaters.

Another hour and the jungle showed no signs of thinning, and thus far only had what Boston called rabbit trails through the brush. They looked promising for a few yards but quickly petered out.

The elves stopped again, and this time everyone else stopped with them, quieted, and wondered what they heard. Then Captain Decker heard and raised his rifle. Then the others heard and became deathly quiet.

“This is a good place.” They heard a man’s voice.

“This is the middle of nowhere.” A second man argued.

“So, no one will look here.”

“But how will we remember to look here?”

Roland moved in absolute silence. He leapt past Captain Decker and climbed the nearest tree in the blink of an eye. No one felt quite sure how he did that, except Boston who chalked it up to him being an elf and young and a hunter. Roland stood on a thick branch and spied on the men. He waved down to Decker, pointed to his eyes, and cupped his hand. Captain Decker tossed up his binoculars. Even the Captain knew that elf eyes were as superhuman as their ears, but clearly Roland wanted a closer look at something.

“It is only until tonight,” the first man said.

“Tonight? But there is the wolf about. Didn’t you see Vanu’s shredded sheep?”

“Ha! I’m more worried about Dayni. If she knew we had this, we would be the ones shredded.”

“But the wolf—”

“You worry too much. You know the day god cannot meet us while the sun is up. It has to be at night.”

“Hey, hey. Do you think he will do everything he said?”

“He is a god. How can you question that?”

“Yeah. I guess Vanu isn’t the only one with friends. But how are we going to find this exact place again?”

“Easy. We just come to the place where that goblin up the tree there is staring at us with boogly eyes.”

A moment of silence followed, before everyone heard two men scream like little girls and the thunder of crashing through the bushes. Roland tossed the binoculars down to the captain and zipped down the other side of the tree. “Over here,” he shouted. He wanted to find whatever it was the two fools dropped.

~~~*~~~

“It appears to be an amulet.”

“Let me see.” Mingus held out his hand, but Roland only held up the amulet. He caught Boston’s eye, but she looked at Alexis, so he handed it to his sister.

“You better hang on to this.”

Mingus followed with his eyes. “There is great power in that amulet,” Mingus announced. “Of course, I have never seen it, but that might be the amulet of peace and prosperity. Reportedly made by the same folk who made Thor’s Hammer and the armor and blades of the Kairos.”

“Peace and prosperity?” Lockhart asked. Mingus nodded, but Captain Decker scoffed. The captain started getting a handle on this Kairos business, but magic still seemed like so much nonsense to him.

“At least there is a clear path here through this jungle,” he said.

“Boston?” Lockhart asked without spelling it out.

“This is more or less the right direction.” Boston pointed. Without being asked, Roland and Decker trotted down the path and out of sight to scout.

“The amulet of peace and prosperity,” Lincoln read from the database. “Made from a stone found by the Kairos and blah, blah. Ah! The greater spirits of Peace and Prosperity willingly filled the stone with a reflection of their own being. Even the gods are restrained from causing disasters and hardship against the owners and their people.” Lincoln looked up at Alexis who gently fingered the stone that hung from her neck. “Sounds very powerful.”

“I can feel it,” Alexis admitted.

“It belongs to the Kairos?”

“Yes.” Lincoln looked again at the database. “In a thousand or so years, it will go north with the Kairos, Devya, and become the centerpiece of the city of Sanctuary that she will build on the silk road.”

“The sun god, Dayus.” Lieutenant Harper remembered and looked at Lockhart. Lockhart nodded and thought like a police officer.

“Dayus was the one who hated Dallah so much he created the Thar desert to get rid of her. Now Vanu is within his grasp again, but he is frustrated by the power of the amulet. So he gets two locals to steal the amulet for him so he can make a desert in the Kashmir to get rid of Vanu.”

“Dayni,” Boston remembered what she heard. “I bet the amulet belongs to him.”

“Her,” Lincoln corrected. “The Traveler’s wife.”

“I read that book,” Lockhart smiled as Roland and Decker reappeared with a man between them. The man looked ragged, cut, and bruised everywhere. He stood stark naked, and he also looked like he was not in his right mind.