Bokarus

Avalon 1.10 Kidnapped part 1 of 5

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After 4146BC near the Transylvania Plateau. Kairos 17: Faya (Beauty).

Recording …

The boat came out of the time gate on a broad and slow-moving river. The water looked blue and fresh, and even the marines were glad to be away from the sea, the salt, and the storm.

“I’m guessing a tributary of the Danube,” Lincoln said.

“I’m guessing we should pull to shore,” Captain Decker said. The boat suddenly creaked and snapped and looked to be rotting beneath their feet.

“The wood,” Alexis said. “It aged fifty years in a second.” She pulled out her wand and magically plugged a leak that appeared in the bottom of the boat. “Hurry.”

Lockhart, Lincoln, Roland, and the captain pulled on the oars as hard as they could. Lockhart drafted a bit deep in his haste and the oar snapped. They had a spare, but they were at the shore by then. Unfortunately, the riverbank seemed a small cliff some six feet high, and there did not appear to be an easy way up.

The boat cracked along a seam. Captain Decker donned his backpack and leapt for the top. He grabbed on to a tree root where the tree grew close to the water and with some wiggle and struggle, he managed to pull himself up.

Meanwhile Lockhart, Lincoln and Roland shoved oars into the soft bank. They floated ten feet downriver from the captain’s position, but it kept them from drifting further in the current.

“Catch.” They heard Captain Decker’s voice though he was out of their line of sight. A rope fell to the deck even as the boat began to sink. Alexis scurried up the line, followed by Mingus and Katie Harper. Boston started to throw all their backpacks up to the ledge while she got wet up to the knees.

“Lincoln, go.” Lockhart said. He and Roland had the outer oars pressed into the soft mud. Lincoln in the center did not help much to hold them in place, so he scrambled up the line.

“Boston, hurry.” Roland said as he and Lockhart struggled to keep the boat from swinging wildly in the current.

“Got it all,” Boston announced even as the bottom gave out beneath her feet. She went straight under the water.

Roland thought fast and dove after her. He held on to the rope as he went. Lockhart lost control of the remains of the craft even as a far more primitive rope came down and he grabbed on for his life. The boat beneath his feet broke apart, but he hung there for a moment with his eyes on the river. Roland came up a second later with the rope wrapped around Boston. She came hacking and gagging from swallowing too much water. Roland said one thing.

“Bokarus.”

Lockhart found himself pulled up and shouted with all his strength. “Bokarus!”

Alexis and Mingus quickly hung their heads over the side. There did not seem like much Mingus could do with his fire against the water, but Alexis grabbed him to draw on his strength as well as her own and had out her elm wand. She took a shot at Boston and her brother, and the rope they clung to began to shorten and pulled them with it. At once, Boston and Roland lifted in the air. They saw a big hand reach up from the water to grab them, but it missed, and the others were quickly able to draw them to the land.

They all heard the scream. They saw the bokarus rise out of the river. It circled them in its rage and frustration. The river rose, but the six-foot bank proved too high to overcome, and with a final scream, the bokarus flew back beneath the waves.

Boston got to her knees to cough and spit. “I’m fine, I’m fine,” she said, as Roland hovered over her. Mingus and Alexis joined them on the grass. Alexis especially looked drained, like she might have looked after running a marathon.

“I was afraid we lost you,” Alexis said.

“The bokarus had a good hold on her,” Roland nodded.

 “Come, girl,” Mingus helped Boston to her feet and he and Roland walked her a bit before they let her sit down. “All appears to be in working order,” Mingus concluded.

Lockhart thanked the three men who helped them. Bruten was the father and Grogor the son. Thag was the big, ugly one with less than a dozen teeth.

Captain Decker stood, Lieutenant Harper beside him, and both were rifle ready. The captain spoke. “I thought Thag was a character from the Far Side.”

“It fits, sir.”

“Knock it off,” Lockhart said, as he judged the position of the sun and checked his watch. “Make camp.” They did that, and their three new friends did so as well. They strung their rope between two trees and made a lean-to to sleep in. Their eyes got big when Mingus magically started the fire, but not any bigger than watching Roland fawn over Boston.

Lockhart, Captain Decker, and Mingus made the camp when Roland headed out on the hunt. Katie Harper spent the next hour checking all their equipment after the salty sea, all that rain, the river water, and the final flight through the air. Meanwhile, Lincoln and Alexis kept watch on their new friends.

“Red hair,” Bruten pointed to his fellows.

“Young.” Thag said.

“I heard,” Grogor looked at the older men. “She looks young.”

“I heard also,” Bruten agreed.

Alexis and Lincoln listened, but the conversation sounded like code.

“And magic.” Thag pointed toward Alexis.

“Flying through the air,” Bruten said with a shake of his head.

“But the Were fly through the air,” Grogor countered.

“Yes, but they become like the birds of the air to fly. This one flies without wings.”

“And the yellow hair woman warrior to watch over her,” Grogor added.

“And the dark one of death,” Bruten agreed.

“Very pretty,” Thag interrupted, with a look at Alexis.

“Don’t look at me,” Alexis said. “I am married.”

The men gave Lincoln a cursory smile and continued with their conversation. “The elves care for her, like they say,” Bruten said.

“Must be,” Grogor agreed.

“Yes,” Thag concluded.

Lincoln tugged on Alexis’ shoulder. She looked at him, but he shrugged. Something did not feel right to him, and she trusted his sense about such things, but he would have to verbalize it to truly grasp it, whatever it was. He groped for the words by asking a question.

“So, Bruten, what are you three doing out here in the wilderness?”

“We hunt.” Bruten gave the short answer but said no more as Roland came back with a deer. He set the deer down by the fire and went to check on Boston while the three hunters nudged each other. It was not clear, though, if they were pointing at the deer or at Boston and the elf’s rapt attention to the girl.

“Lockhart,” Roland called once Boston assured him that she felt fine. Lockhart looked up from where Captain Decker and Mingus were doing a hatchet job on the deer. “I found the Gott-Druk boat about a mile downriver,” Roland said. Everyone stopped to listen. “Empty.”

~~~*~~~

Bruten, Grogor and Thag had no redeeming qualities whatsoever. They were rude, uncouth, unclean, stank and were prone to make noises, some of which also stank. Alexis referred to them as Neolithic rednecks. Boston called that an insult to all true rednecks while the women moved to the other side of the fire, and then some.

Lockhart, Captain Decker, and Lincoln tried to stay on the friendly side of the fire. Curiously, neither Mingus nor Roland seemed offended by any of it. “I thought that was normal human behavior,” Mingus said later, and with a straight face. Roland admitted he put up some kind of magical shield that protected his eyes, ears, and nose from the worst of it.

The travelers were all inclined to make for their tents early that evening and paused only for a minute when Bruten asked where they were headed come the morning.

“North, generally.” Lockhart had already decided to not give out any more information than necessary, and apparently, the others came to the same conclusion.

Bruten nodded, though certainly he had no idea which direction was north, or what north was for that matter. “You are headed for the fortress people on the side of the mountains. We are, too. We know the way. We will take you.”

“Boston,” Lockhart called, and she glanced at her amulet. She tried not to make a show of it. Grogor and Thag sat up straighter when the redhead came close.

“We are going—” Boston started to speak, but Bruten interrupted.

“That way,” Bruten pointed, and he pointed exactly on target. “We know the land and the people there. We will take you.”

Lockhart was not the only one to wonder what these three might expect in return, and it took some courage on his part to say it, but he said, “We can go together.”

“The red hair knows the way,” Grogor said to his father.

“Well, of course she knows the way,” Bruten shoved the boy. Thag laughed and showed off all his teeth. Boston thought there might only be nine altogether.

“Well, goodnight,” Lockhart smiled and shoved Boston behind him to scoot her off to her tent. As he came to his own tent, he found Lincoln, armed and ready.

“First watch. Wake you in three hours?” Lockhart glanced back at the three by the fire and then responded.

“Watch out for anything in orange.”

Lincoln nodded. “And the werewolf, and the bokarus, and the ghouls.” He wandered back to the fire.

“The hair is right, but she is too young,” Bruten said.

“A daughter?” Thag suggested.

“Must be,” Grogor said.

Lincoln shook his head. It had to be in code.

No one and nothing bothered the travelers in the night, and the three rednecks slept and snored all night long, hard as it was for the others to hear. It did have the virtue of keeping the guards awake.

Avalon 1.8 The First City part 2 of 4

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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 1.4 Sticks and Stones part 1 of 6

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After 4400 BC, the Dead Sea wilderness. Kairos 11: Saphira the Huntress

Recording …

The travelers walked in silence in the early hours. They moved through rugged, tree filled country of the sort that Mingus called bokarus friendly. Alexis could not worry about that. She tried to draw close to Lincoln several times while they walked, but he turned away from her. He remained pleasant, but not the husband she knew and needed.

At ten, Lieutenant Harper pointed to the sky. Something spewed smoke and moved rapidly overhead. They all saw it, and after a breath, they all heard it as well. It did not move low enough in the sky to vanish quickly, but it appeared low enough to see it was a ship of some kind and not a natural phenomenon.

“Man-made?” Captain Decker asked.

“No. No way.” Lincoln, Boston, and Alexis all responded together. They had some experience with such things.

“Not in this day and age,” Lieutenant Harper added. She looked at the captain and wondered if the man would ever admit the truth. He still occasionally tinkered with the transmitter as if the area 51 receivers were just around the corner.

Lockhart looked torn for a minute. This was the province of his men in black, only not this time, he decided. “Not our concern,” he said. “Keep walking.”

An hour later, they heard the distant howl of the bokarus behind them. They knew they were not forgotten. Scant minutes after that, Boston pulled up short and let out a little shriek.

A person in leather armor blocked their way. That person had the expected stone-tipped spear, but along with the leather armor, the person also had the first bow and arrows they had seen. Most surprising, the knife on the hip looked made of copper, not simply stone.

“You’re going the wrong way.” The warrior spoke, and at once, they knew this was a woman. She took off her leather helmet and shook out her long dark brown hair that carried hints of gray, and she stared at them through dark brown eyes. “The action is all that way.” She pointed behind them and off to their right. Most looked, of course, but saw nothing among the trees.

“Lower your guns,” Lockhart decided, though even Captain Decker’s gun had already been lowered. “We don’t appear to be on the hit list.”

“You are a warrior?” Alexis asked.

“A huntress,” the woman answered, and motioned them to follow.

Doctor Procter pointed in the direction from which the huntress came. The travelers felt inclined to continue their journey before Boston had a thought.

“Saphira?” she asked.

“Yes, Boston,” Saphira answered, and the travelers turned to follow in her wake.

They moved silently while Boston moved up front for a change. She had another question. “What are we hunting?”

“Baldies.”

“What kind of animals are they? Are they in the database? I never heard of them.”

“Shh!” Saphira responded with a grin and pointed at Captain Decker. It took a minute for Boston to figure out Saphira meant bald men. The captain shaved his head.

When the group stopped, Saphira signaled for everyone to get down as she stuffed her hair back into her helmet. “Listen close,” she said. “The men across the clearing are no longer human. They are mindless robots designed for one purpose: to kill. The last bit of humanity was taken from them a long time ago, so don’t worry, whatever you do.”

“Some disease?” Alexis asked.

“Like mad cow? No. Worse.” By then Saphira was ready. Without further explanation, she stepped to the edge of the clearing in the woods.

Captain Decker got out his binoculars and pointed across the clearing. “Baldies straight ahead.” He caught the reference.

“Spread out,” Lockhart responded. “Prepare for a firefight.”

Lincoln and Boston got out their pistols. Captain Decker and Lieutenant Harper took the flanks with their superior firepower. Lockhart pulled his pistol and imagined the shotgun would be back-up in case they got close. He stayed in the center of the group where Alexis pulled her wood and bone wands and considered them. The bone had dried and become workable, but still crude. The wood aged fast. She felt a bit surprised when her father reached over and took the wooden one. Her father rarely used a wand and never carried one. Mingus then nudged Doctor Procter and he got out his wand as well, but he looked like he had no intention of using it. Roland, of course, had his bow.

Saphira spoke loudly so her words would carry to the other end of the field. “Here I am. Your three friends are dead. You could be next.” It did not take much coaxing. Apparently, they were waiting for her and thought they had her in a trap. Twenty bald headed, wild-eyed men, naked and sweating broke from the trees. If they had any self-will at all, the baldies might have wondered why their prey did not run away. Instead, Saphira fell to the ground and lay out as flat as she could to get out of the way.

No one needed to say fire. The guns blared from cover until the people came out from behind their trees and bushes. Roland got an arrow in one of the last and Lockhart swung around his shotgun for the very last. That one fell ten feet from Saphira who spun around, propped herself up on her elbows.

“Thank you,” she said.

No one else felt like speaking. Twenty men lay dead on the field. Alexis put her wand away. She had not used it. She felt like crying, but instead she gave Lockhart a long, hard, accusing look for cursing them with this eventuality.

Even as Saphira stood and brushed herself off, a very tall and lean woman appeared on the field in the midst of the dead. She appeared out of thin air, so the travelers knew she was a goddess. And she did not look happy.

“Tiamut.” Saphira named the goddess who looked briefly at Saphira before she finished her examination of the bodies. Some of the men were only wounded, but they were made useless for the goddess’ purposes.

“I see you found some friends.” Tiamut finally spoke. It came out, a chilling voice. “Friends from the future. A future that feels wrong to me.” She stretched out her hand and Lockhart’s shotgun appeared in the goddess’ hands. “Some interesting accessories, though.” The goddess lifted the gun to her shoulder and pointed it at Saphira. Saphira flinched before the goddess pointed down and shot the head off one of the wounded men.

“I had in mind to send these men back to your settlement,” Tiamut said. “Now that will not be.” She shrugged and tossed away the shotgun like it hardly mattered. The gun thumped against the earth. “I must think on this future and these guns and such things. There may be something workable there after all.” She smiled and added a last thought before she vanished. “You have a traitor among you.” Everyone breathed when the goddess disappeared, but they looked carefully at each other while Lockhart retrieved the shotgun and checked it to be sure it had not been damaged.

“Tiamut.” Boston spoke before she reached for her database. Saphira nodded so Boston finished her question. “Goddess of what?”

“Chaos,” Saphira answered. “Not a good enemy. These men were hers. And for the record, she might claim there is a traitor even if there isn’t, just to get you suspecting and not trusting each other.”

“But I thought Marduk or Assur or someone like that killed Tiamut.” Lieutenant Harper spoke up.

“Shh!” Saphira turned on the Lieutenant and her words were sharp. “They haven’t even been born yet. You need to watch what you say as much as what you do.” Lieutenant Harper looked appropriately humbled and felt grateful when Lockhart stepped up and changed the subject.

“So, we saw a ship of some kind fly overhead a few hours ago. It looked to be in distress.”

Saphira nodded to indicate she saw it too, and she turned to lead the way.

Avalon 1.3 The Way of Dreams part 1 of 3

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After 4447BC in the Sinai Peninsula. Kairos 10: Ranear of the Ophir.

Recording …

Lunch was quail that Boston and Roland flushed out and bagged. People had been on edge the whole day, but they needed to eat. They all mentioned the bokarus at one time or another that morning, but they all agreed that did not feel right. Several times Roland, and once Captain Decker claimed they heard something, but found nothing. Still, they all felt a sense of dread, like they were being followed by something inexplicable.

“This quail is good.” Lincoln attempted to lighten the mood.

“Tastes like chicken,” Captain Decker said flatly. Lockhart began to wonder if the man ever smiled.

Lieutenant Harper frowned and looked around at the terrain. The rocky landscape alone would not account for the poor vegetation. Boston said they were in the Sinai, and as far as she knew, it would not change much in the next six thousand plus years. The grass grew poorly and looked like it had been overgrazed. The bushes grew full of brambles and thorns—one day a real pain to shepherds—and the trees, what there were of them, looked short and spindly. Still, the rocks were everywhere, sticking up from beneath the earth like fingers pointing at the sky. She imagined there had not been enough rain in the region over the centuries to wear them down. “Maybe in twelve thousand years,” she muttered.

Lockhart stood, stretched, and made his own attempt to lighten the mood. “You know; it is remarkable being thirty again. You cannot imagine the aches and pains that develop by the time you reach sixty.”

“What was that?” Mingus looked up, not asking Lockhart to repeat himself. Roland scooted up to spy from behind a rock. They heard something among the trees. Then they heard a word, “Ophir!” and three spears came shooting into their camp. Two missed, as people reacted, but Lockhart caught one in the thigh and cursed. He pulled himself up behind Roland’s rock even as the marines returned fire.

A few moments later, Lincoln and Boston brought their pistols to bear, and Roland fired Lockhart’s shotgun once, when he saw some movement. He would have been more accurate with his bow, but his arrow supply was limited, and movement did not necessarily equal a person. Captain Decker slipped out of the camp and very quickly the gunfire stopped. There were no more spears and nothing to see among the bushes, trees, and rocks within view.

“I think we may have scared them off,” Lincoln suggested.

“Primitive,” Lieutenant Harper examined one of the spears. “I would say local, and human made.” She felt funny having to add that last part, but given their experience thus far, and given their feelings all morning, it felt necessary.

“Sit still.” Alexis yelled at Lockhart. “The spear is about to come out on its own, but you don’t want to make the wound worse.”

“It’s those Gaian healing chits still running through his body,” Lincoln suggested, and Lockhart confirmed that with a nod.

“The whole area is already numb. I imagine I will be fine, shortly.”

“The muscle is torn. I would guess it will take longer than shortly to heal this wound.”

“I don’t know,” Mingus started to add his opinion when Captain Decker came back escorting a native with a bullet crease in the man’s thigh. The native, a young, dark-skinned boy of maybe sixteen summers, collapsed when he came into the camp and Alexis immediately turned her attention to him.

The captain gave his report. “One dead, the others ran but this one couldn’t run. You can stand down.”

“You are Ophir?” Boston asked, because the Kairos was listed as being of the Ophir people, though her information appeared sketchy on the details.

“No, you are Ophir.” His eyes got big as he watched Lockhart’s wound stop bleeding and then heal over, like it was never there. His eyes got even bigger when Alexis laid her hands over his own wound, and he felt the warmth and healing power flow into his leg. He looked up at Captain Decker.

“You are Hivite, like me. Why are you with these enemies?” Decker said nothing and the boy looked again at Boston’s red hair and changed his mind. “You are not Hivite, and you are not Ophir.”

“No, but the Ophir are our friends.”

“Ahh!” The boy suddenly put his face in his hands and shivered. “I have fallen among the gods of the Ophir. You kill with lightning and thunder and cannot be killed. I will be meat. I will be consumed. Help me Set.” He began to weep. He looked terribly afraid, and everyone saw that.

“We won’t harm you,” Alexis assured him and smiled for him, but he pulled back from her hand meant to comfort him. He shrieked again when Mingus came over to extract his daughter from the boy’s side, and the boy got a good look at the elf.

“One dead?” Lockhart asked. Decker nodded. “Is he strong enough to carry his friend?”

“I don’t know,” Alexis said honestly. “His leg is fine. The bullet only creased him. It was not much of a wound. I would say it depends on how big his friend is and how far he has to go.”

“We could help,” Boston suggested, but Lockhart shook his head.

“Direction?” Lockhart turned to Doctor Procter and the doctor pointed. Decker pointed the opposite way to say which way the others ran off. “No.” Lockhart said, and he knelt to the boy. “Get up,” he insisted, and they both stood. “Take your dead. There is no help we can give him.” Then he added something the Kairos often said. “Go in peace.”

The boy backed out of the camp. The tears never entirely left his eyes but when he realized he was going to live, they noticed the change. Now he cried for his dead friend. They watched as he retrieved the body, scant yards from their camp. It looked hard, but he managed the young man around his shoulders, like he might carry a deer, and he soon disappeared in the wilderness.

“Maybe the others are not so far away,” Lieutenant Harper suggested. People nodded. They liked to think that as they packed their things. No one said they already had enough to worry about what with the bokarus, the ghouls, and a missing bogyman. Worry about the locals, about getting caught up in some war or trouble, was not something they were prepared for, yet.

“Those young men were not what has been following us,” Lincoln said. They all knew Lincoln spoke the truth, and it did not help.

“This way,” Doctor Procter said. They followed him. Lockhart only limped a little.

~~~*~~~

They found the Ophir camped in a secluded spot on the ridge across a wilderness valley where a running stream greened the fields. The camp location had obviously been chosen to minimize the presence of people and make the valley inviting to the wildlife. The hunting would be good for some time, and there would be plenty to gather in that fertile place as well. Eventually, the animals would grow wise and wary, and the fertility of the place would run dry. The stream itself might dry up in another season, but that would not be for a while.

 Boston picked a yellow flower by the stream. She went to show Lockhart, but he hushed her. He became extra careful after the ambush.

“Here!” Roland called and Lockhart breathed. He felt glad Captain Decker did not flush them out with a bullet. “Just one man. Probably a hunter.”

“Where?” Lockhart asked. Roland pointed, and after a moment, they all saw the man climbing the far ridge with all speed. Boston paused when she saw something else. It looked like a medieval knight up on that ridge, and it appeared to be staring down at them. Boston turned to say something, but her heart said that could not be right. When she turned back to double check before speaking, the knight had vanished. She held her tongue.

“I hope the natives are friendly.” Lockhart shrugged and stole another glance behind them. He felt more concerned about what might be following them than what might be up ahead.

Lincoln and Alexis came up from downstream while Mingus and Lieutenant Harper reported from upstream.

“All clear, Robert.” Lieutenant Harper said.

“Thank you, Katie,” Lockhart responded, and he led the team up the ridge. They found a reception committee of elders by the time they arrived. Curiously, the one young man in the group broke ranks and stepped down to them.

“Boston. Lockhart. Good to see you all.”

Avalon 1.1 Hunters in the Dark part 3 of 3

M G Kizzia Leave a comment

“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.

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

Monday

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

*

Avalon 1.1 Hunters in the Dark part 2 of 3

M G Kizzia Leave a comment

The travelers stayed where they were for the rest of that night. It felt hard for them to get back to sleep, but the high ground was a good defensive position, and the trees were there to fall back into in case whatever scared the bokarus decided to show up.

By morning, most of the herd had wandered off and everyone took a deep breath. There were predators in the night that came to feast on the beasts they had shot, and even then, they could see the vultures shredding the remains. That looked far enough away to not cause concern.

Alexis paused in rinsing out her pot when she saw a man in the distance. He stood straight and tall and held a spear that stood half-again his height.

“What do you think he wants?” Lincoln whispered to her. Alexis shrugged and went back to her work. They packed the camp and even as Doctor Procter checked the amulet, the distant man began to trot toward them. Lockhart made them wait.

The man appeared to be tall and dark skinned, which caused Lincoln to comment. “He looks more like a Massai warrior than a North African.”

“No Phoenician, Roman, Visigoth or Arab blood in him yet,” Lieutenant Harper responded first.

“Yes. Very good,” Mingus praised her even as Captain Decker raised his gun to ready position.

“Halloo.” The man called when he was still distant. “You were in the stampede. I hope everyone is all right.”

“Yes, thank you,” Lockhart shouted back as the man came up the rise. He looked once at Captain Decker and his dark skin before he turned to the speaker.

“You are from the land of the Great River?” the man asked.

“We are travelers,” Lockhart said. “And you live in this land?”

The man pointed and Lockhart saw that Doctor Procter confirmed that he pointed in the right direction for them as well. “But it is only our camp. We are also travelers. We follow after the herd.”

“My name is Lockhart,” he said, and this time he forcibly took the man’s hand and shook it. Then he introduced everyone around. After the man got the idea, the man grinned and shook everyone’s hand, except the elves. He merely stared at them, and Doctor Procter did not offer his hand.

“I am Atonis,” he said at last. “If you are traveling in my direction, you must come and stay the night in my camp. You will be safe there from the stampede and the beasts of the night.”

Lockhart simply nodded, so Alexis spoke. “Thank you.”

“My camp is a whole day from here,” the man spoke again after they started to walk.

“Perhaps we can add some meat to your fire,” Boston tried to be cordial.

“Along the way, we will have to do lunch,” Lockhart told her. “And you thought that expression just belonged to your generation.” Lockhart looked back. Mingus and Roland were on the flanks. Decker and Harper were in rear guard position. Lincoln and Alexis were in front of the marines and Lincoln jotted something down in his notebook. Boston came on Lockhart’s heels, or walked beside him, and Doctor Procter wandered aimlessly in the middle, not even looking at his amulet.

“I must ask,” Atonis said after a while. “I heard the wail of the spirit in the night. I was not surprised to see the herd start to run. But tell me, do you know what makes this sound?”

“A bokarus,” Boston spoke right up. “A green man. It is a spirit of the wild. It protects the wilderness and hates any human intrusion that interferes with the natural order of things.”

“And it is following us,” Lockhart added and looked back at Doctor Procter, but this time the Doctor made no objection. More likely, the Doctor did not hear.

“I have heard this once before,” Atonis said. “This spirit is not a good thing.” He said no more about it until lunch. Roland brought in a gazelle after only a few minutes’ chase, and Mingus got a fire started. Alexis made bread but that was the only thing that opened Atonis’ eyes. Clearly, he knew what the elves were and was not going to be surprised at anything they might do.

They had a good lunch but overstayed their time, first because Boston explained why they were traveling with two spirits of the earth, as Atonis called the elves; and then Atonis told the story of his first encounter with the bokarus.

“Three years ago, and my friend Mumbai celebrated the marriage of his daughter to a good man. He wanted to build a great celebration fire, so he had us gather all the wood in the little forest that we could find. It was not enough for him. He took a sharp stone and cut many young trees to add to the fire. They did not burn well, being green, but Mumbai was determined that his daughter should have the biggest fire, ever.

“As we celebrated, we were interrupted in the night by the wail of the angry spirit. It flew like a bird in the sky around and around. The wind became strong, and people fell to their knees, afraid of the sound and the wind. We were all afraid. All at once, the wind picked Mumbai up off the ground and threw him into the heart of the great fire. People screamed and the bokarus left us as we pulled my friend from the fire.

“His clothes were burned to him and could not be taken off him. He had great swellings of white bubbles everywhere that burst and made him smell of cooked meat. Much of his body was charred, like the ash after the fire is done. He was in great pain, and in the morning, he died.

“Many said then that we should go to the village of Neamon and dwell there with the village people. They said the grasslands were becoming too dangerous, but many said no. We have lived well since then, but we have not forgotten. And now that the bokarus is back, I do not know what we will do.”

Everyone said they were sorry, and Boston and Alexis hugged the man while he cried. Lincoln handed him a handkerchief and got him to blow his nose. It already turned late when they started to walk again.

“It will be dark before we arrive,” Atonis said. “But with this host of people, I expect no trouble.” Lockhart and Lincoln both looked back and wondered if what scared off the bokarus might follow them after dark, but neither said a word.

“It was a good thing the bokarus left you alone after that.” Boston had a good imagination and could not get the image of the horribly burned man out of her mind.

“It was my daughter,” Atonis said softly. “Not Hespah, but my little one, Iris. She was only seven. She stood up in the face of that great wind and yelled as loud as her little lungs could yell. “Bokarus!” That is how we know the name. “No! Go away! You do not belong here!” The spirit had just thrown Mumbai into the fire, and it stopped to face my daughter. I felt very afraid for her, but then Iris reached for the ghost, and it raced away before she could touch it. It never came back, until now.

Boston said no more so Atonis said no more. But Boston did take Lockhart’s arm the way Alexis held Lincoln’s arm, and Lockhart did not push her away.

The sun went down while the moon came up bright in the sky, though it looked to be a waning moon. From a distance, the camp appeared to be a well-ordered community with a half-dozen tent-like structures in a circle around a central fire. It stood up on the highest hill in the middle of nowhere. The nearest little woods were some distance, but there appeared to be plenty of deadwood stacked around the camp like a barrier against the wild.

Captain Decker and Lieutenant Harper got out their night vision goggles and passed them around. They had to get close to the camp before they heard the shouting and screaming. They started to run when two dark but human looking figures rose-up before them. They paused, but Captain Decker had put on his night goggles, and he opened fire without waiting for the order. Both figures fell.

Roland touched Lockhart’s shoulder before Lockhart could yell. He got all their feet moving with one word. “Ghouls.”

Alexis got out the wand she had been working on and managed a light, like a golden spotlight on their path to the camp. It helped, until the darkness responded. It came out from the camp, put out the light that it followed like a dog might follow a trail, and with a snap, it knocked Alexis back on her rump.

Captain Decker fired in the direction from which the darkness came, and this time Lockhart yelled. “Decker. There are people there!”

They pushed through the firewood that circled the camp and broke into the center space by the fire. Men had spears and women threw stones, but the ghouls did not appear to be bothered by it all. Captain Decker, Lieutenant Harper, and Lincoln all opened fire as soon as they had a clear shot. Three ghouls went down. Another got mauled by Lockhart’s shotgun, and if not yet dead, it soon would be.

Mingus appeared to be counting but came alert as a ghoul grabbed Boston by the back of her collar. He sent a fireball into the Ghoul’s face, which made it let go. Boston fell, spun, and unloaded six bullets into the creature’s chest.

Lieutenant Harper and Alexis were already checking the men, women and children who appeared to be dead. Captain Decker with his night goggles caught another attempting to flee the camp. Then Lincoln heard a scream from one of the tents. Girls were screaming and it sounded like Atonis responded “Aaii-ii.”

Lincoln ran and arrived at the same time as Atonis. They saw a ghoul with a woman in one hand. She looked limp and lifted completely off the ground. The ghoul tossed her away like so much dead meat. Two young girls huddled in the corner, screaming and scared senseless. That was about all Lincoln could see in the second he had to glimpse the action. He opened fire and did not stop firing until the ghoul got laid out flat.

Lincoln watched Atonis run to his children. The ghoul, one of the big ones at about eight feet in height, shriveled up like a beach ball with an air leak. It began to compress until it became no bigger than a hand, and then it melted into the soil and left only a sickly green smudge where it had been.

Avalon 1.1 Hunters in the Dark part 1 of 3

M G Kizzia Leave a comment

After 4480 BC on the Sahara Grasslands. Kairos 8: Iris of the Anamites

Recording …

Boston stepped through the gate and found a hand pressed over her mouth. Lincoln’s hand tasted like sand. Good thing he was there, because otherwise she would have screamed. A wildebeest pressed up against her leg. It begrudgingly moved. Lockhart and the others came through quietly, and the herd made a little room, but that was all.

“Doctor.” Lockhart whispered the word, but Doctor Procter did not move. He appeared frozen in place. Roland stepped up and one beast stepped aside while Roland reached for the amulet.

“No!” The Doctor yelled and covered his chest with his hand, like he had to protect some great secret. Several beasts got startled and reacted. They made more room for the people, but soon settled down again. They all recognized the dangerous moment. They might have all been trampled if the herd started to run. Doctor Procter looked up at Roland and his outstretched hand. He looked surprised by his own word. He pulled out the amulet and both he and Roland looked, and Roland pointed to the south and west, into the setting sun.

They walked slowly, like a little herd of their own, while the sun went down, and the moon rose. Zebras, gazelle, and antelope filled this herd. Just as the last of the light began to fade, they found some elephants, and a couple of giraffes grazing on a small copse of trees. Boston thought it safe to speak if she whispered.

“Sahara grasslands,” she read from the database and spoke as they moved to the far side of the trees where there was some room for them to breathe. They had walked for more than an hour by then and found no end of the herd. “I didn’t know what that meant, but I see it meant Africa.”

“No kidding,” Captain Decker said, softly.

“Before the Sahara turned to dust,” Lincoln nodded.

“But the soil is no good here.” Mingus knelt to touch a handful. “Full of sand already.”

Alexis joined him to look for herself. “Unless this land is getting good rainfall, a herd such as this won’t take long to turn the Sahara into the desert we all know.”

Something laughed in the distance. “Hyenas,” Roland named them.

“Lions and tigers and bears,” Lockhart said. “We better keep moving while we can, and pray we find the edge of this herd before too long.” He looked up. They felt lucky the moon had already risen and looked three quarters full. In that land, with little undulating hills and few trees, the moonlight helped enough see where they were going.

It took two hours to reach a point where the herd thinned out sufficiently for the group to spread out a little and relax. A lion roared a warning somewhere off to their left, and it made Lincoln jump. It took another half-hour before Lockhart finally agreed they moved far enough out of range to pitch camp for the night. They stopped on the edge of another small wood, so they had plenty of wood for the fire. In fact, they built three fires on a small hill out in the open. They placed the fires in a triangle shape far enough apart so they could set up their tents inside the light.

“At least there is no shortage of game,” Captain Decker said.

“Good for attracting lions, I bet,” Lieutenant Harper countered.

Roland simply pulled his bow and trotted back the way they had come. He easily shot a Wildebeest and a zebra and cut rather large flank steaks. He returned to the camp and left the carcasses where they lay in the open.

They ate well that night, though the wildebeest proved to be tough and stringy. The zebra tasted good. Everyone said so, except Boston who declined to partake. She said zebras reminded her too much of Spunky, her horse back home.

After they ate, Lockhart looked at the moon. It kept rising. “Lincoln and Alexis get the first watch. Captain Decker and Roland take the second watch. Mingus and I will take the third watch. Boston and Katie can watch the sun come up,” Lockhart ordered.

“What?” Boston sat up straight. “You want Katie and me up early so we can cook breakfast? Well, forget it.”

“Actually, I want a pair of elf eyes available in the dark of the night, but now that you mention it, I take my eggs over easy.”

Boston made a face.

“What about me?” Doctor Procter asked, not that he sounded like he minded getting a full night’s sleep.

Lockhart looked at the man. Lockhart felt something wrong there, but he smiled as he spoke. “Old man, you just hang on to that amulet and keep it safe for us all.”

Doctor Procter did not argue.

Three in the morning, Mingus abandoned his corner of the watch to speak with Lockhart. “I do not understand my friend,” he admitted. “Procter is usually a gregarious and talkative fellow, but he has been so quiet.”

“I’ve been thinking about that myself,” Lockhart said, as he moved a little so the elder elf could sit on the log they dragged out from the woods. He had started to adjust to being around the elves. “Of course, I didn’t know him before.”

“Strange. You think you know someone.” Mingus shrugged.

“I was thinking that maybe after all those years of studying these time zones, to now finally have a chance to see with his own eyes. It must be overwhelming,” Lockhart offered an explanation.

Mingus shook his head at that. “I studied the lives of the Kairos longer than him. It is exciting, but I would have thought it would make him talk more, not less.”

They got interrupted by the sound of a distant howl. It started out low and rose-up the scale to a scream. They heard no animal.

“Bokarus,” Mingus named the howler.

“It followed us.” Lockhart nodded.

They heard the howl rise-up to a scream three times before they heard something else. It sounded like thunder.

“Everybody up!” Mingus and Lockhart yelled and went to the tents to be sure.

“Stampede,” Boston called it.

“And headed right for us,” Roland confirmed.

“To the trees,” Lincoln said but it sounded like a question. Mingus shook his head. That would not help.

“Roland,” Alexis called her brother. “Split the herd.”

They grabbed hands. “One, two, three,” and the light went out from their hands to form a golden triangle with the point in the distance. The stampede split down both sides of the triangle and away from their camp, but a few animals stumbled through the light.

“Lieutenant.” Captain Decker only had to say that much before both marines raised their rifles and began to pick off the ones inside the light. Boston and Lincoln pulled out their pistols and Lockhart readied the shotgun in case the ones inside got too close.

In the distance, the howls continued until suddenly it cut off in mid-scream. Then they heard it no more.

“Father!” Alexis yelled. The pressure against the outer edge of the triangle of light started to become too much to bear.

“Father.” Roland spoke softly through his teeth as Mingus stepped up and laid a hand on each shoulder. The light strengthened as the elder elf managed to add his magic to the force, and it seemed enough. Once the screaming stopped, the herd soon settled down. The herd was too large to move far and fast outside of a migration.

“The bokarus must have broken off a piece off the main herd,” Lincoln said. “Good thing the screaming stopped.”

“Yes,” Lockhart shouldered his shotgun. “But I want to know what scared the bokarus bad enough to make it stop.”

Avalon 1.0 Neverland part 5 of 5

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It did not take long for the boys to get in position. Pan listened for the birdcalls. Duba’s came last, as usual, but as soon as he got set, Pan put his fingers to his lips and let the whistle scream. It echoed around the Shemashi camp, and then there came shouting, two tents collapsed, and fire sticks got tossed into the crowd gathered around Alexis. Several of the Shemashi panicked. They began to gather the children and run toward their own tents, and shouted at each other, which increased the confusion.

The boys ran through the crowd yelling “Fire!” in the Shemashi tongue. The shaman stuck his head out from his tent and frowned. Hog, Chodo and Shmee appeared to be frozen where they were, beside Alexis, who stood and wiped off her clothes. Then the boys melted back into the woods and Pan said, “Go.”

Mingus, Roland, and Lincoln walked toward the camp while Bluebell and Honeysuckle flew up to Alexis and spoke in English. “Come on, we have to go now.”

“I’m coming,” Alexis responded, as she picked up her medical bag. Shmee threw his hands over his eyes on sight of the Fee. Chodo dropped his jaw. Hog just looked angry, but he did nothing to interfere.

“Miss Bell,” Hog said, and Bluebell paused long enough to stick her little tongue out at the man.

Mingus, Roland, and Lincoln stopped at ten yards and waited for Alexis. The rest stood just visible at the edge of the camp. They were armed, but looked relaxed, except Doctor Procter who stepped forward and pointed at the three men by the fire who had been their guests.

“Kill them,” Doctor Procter shrieked. “Quick. Now is your chance. Kill them all—” The Doctor slammed his own hand against his own mouth as Captain Decker and Lockhart both turned to stare at him. “I don’t know why I said that.” Doctor Procter spoke in all honesty. “I hate killing.” He shook his head.

The shaman came out to watch as Alexis stepped up to Mingus. “Father.” She spoke in Shemashi and kissed Mingus on the cheek. “Brother.” They touched fists. “Husband.” They kissed in a way that made Honeysuckle sigh while Bluebell made embarrassed noises and flew rapidly in circles and back flips.

Then it got dark, or as Mingus called it, devil dark. They heard a scream, much worse than the whistles of Pan and the boys. Most of the people still in sight grabbed their ears and fell to the dirt. A frightening presence entered the pit of the stomach, and a spirit, like a ghost, began to fly in circles around the camp. It quickly built up to a speed that called up a great wind and the sea began to rise.

“Bokarus!” The shaman identified the creature and started to chant, dance, and rattle his necklace of claws and teeth. Honeysuckle, Bluebell and Alexis all got out their wands and began to zap at the sky, though the thing moved too fast to hit. The leaves in all the trees shook quite apart from the wind, and the sea continued to rise.

Pan climbed up on a boulder and shouted. “Bokarus! No!” The thing stopped screaming and paused to face the boy. It had an ethereal, ghost-like quality that frightened everyone except Pan got angry and Mingus stood at an angle to send out a zap of his own. Pan reached out to grab the creature, but Mingus’ ball of flame struck at the same time. The creature screamed again, this time from being struck, and it tumbled off among the trees to disappear in the wilderness.

“You almost singed my fingers,” Pan protested, as he climbed back down. The wind stopped. The sea receded, and the oppressive air cleared and brightened.

After it was all over, Doctor Procter pulled his wand from his sleeve and looked at it like he hardly knew what it was.

“Big help,” Mingus scolded as he walked by.

“Honeysuckle. Bluebell.” Pan called, and the fairies came right away. “You need to stay with our friends and escort them to the next gate,” he whispered. “Do what Lockhart tells you. Watch them along the sides as they walk and don’t let the bokarus near them.”

“Oh, but that is scary,” Bluebell whispered in return.

“We will do it,” Honeysuckle spoke for them both, and Pan smiled and spun around to find his boys gathered nearby.

“Come on, boys. Back to the secret tree.” Pan yelled, and he ran off, followed by the others, Ramina hot on his heels, and the Duba bringing up the rear.

It turned late, but with Alexis’ insistence, the travelers opted to stay the night in the Shemashi camp rather than risk the bokarus in the dark. Alexis and the Shaman worked it out. The people in the village kept their distance, but they appreciated the help rebuilding all the things knocked down by the boys and the wind, and they loved the bread.

“I think the bread-crackers are self-replicating,” Alexis pointed out. “I used my whole pouch but now it is full again.”

“Like the bullets,” Captain Decker said, but he said it in a way that suggested he was sorry he had not used any yet.

“And the vitamins.” Alexis nodded as she handed them out. They had missed their daily dose in the morning.

“You know,” Doctor Procter spoke up. “A bokarus is not a greater spirit. I am not sure it even qualifies as a lesser spirit. I am surprised it has taken an interest in you humans, what with our traveling with the company.”

Mingus explained, as usual. “What he means is a bokarus is not beyond elf magic. We may pose a threat to it. But evidently, the bokarus has judged you people from the future to be a bigger threat to the environment, so it is willing to take the risk to take you out.”

“Yes, I wondered why it followed us,” Lockhart said. He thought it was the same bokarus from the last time zone, and that meant it could follow them from zone to zone. “But how do we take it out? You got a good shot at it, but it did not seem badly injured.”

Mingus shrugged, so Roland spoke. “They are nearly impossible to damage as long as they remain in their ghost form.”

Boston got out her database. “Bokarus or green man is a defender of the primordial wilderness. It is catalogued here somewhere between little and lesser spirit.” She showed the chart, and Bluebell spoke from her shoulder.

“Yes, but they are scary.”

Lincoln thought what Bluebell thought, but verbalized what Lockhart wondered. “But it seems to me the question is whether or not this bokarus is the same as the last one or if we just happened to run into two of them.”

“Yes,” Lockhart agreed.

“Can’t be the same,” Doctor Procter said quickly.

“It must be,” Captain Decker said at the same time.

“It might be, but not necessarily,” Mingus danced between the two opinions.

Boston stood in the silence that followed. “Well, while you argue about it, Katie and I and our new friends are going to get some sleep. I assume we will have to leave about dawn if we hope to reach the gate in daylight.” She looked at Doctor Procter who looked at his amulet. He only shook it once before he spoke.

“Yes. Er, yes.”

Lieutenant Harper stood and followed Boston while Honeysuckle zipped ahead to open the tent flap.

“But what about Pan?” Bluebell picked right up where she left off, which was very unusual for a Fee. “He is my heart.”

“I am sure he is,” Boston responded. “But maybe you just need to back up a little and give him a chance to grow up first.”

“That is what I have been telling her,” Honeysuckle said, as they went inside the tent.

After that, the morning came quick. Hog and Shmee returned in their boat not expecting the village to still have visitors. They avoided the strangers as well as they could, but Chodo looked pleased to point them out. None of the travelers felt obliged to confront the men. Instead, they concentrated on packing and preparing to leave.

They moved as quickly as they could through the wilderness. They took a few rests and stopped only briefly for lunch; eyes open the whole way. Bluebell and Honeysuckle watched their flank along the way, but they never caught wind of the bokarus until the end of the day, as they approached the gate. Then they only heard a wailing in the distance—a mournful song, like the wail of a ghost in torment.

“I hope that thing isn’t the same one,” Captain Decker said.

“You see, Hon?” Alexis grinned at Lincoln. “You did not need to say it.”

“Sounds like you stepped on its toe pretty good,” Lockhart said to Mingus, who merely nodded.

“Here it is.” Doctor Procter did not wait for them. Boston and Lieutenant Harper took a couple of minutes to make the fairies get big so they could properly hug them. No surprise that Honeysuckle appeared as a full-grown woman, and Bluebell appeared as a fourteen-year-old.

“I’m going to miss you, Katie,” Honeysuckle said.

“And I will miss you,” Lieutenant Harper admitted.

“Maybe we will see each other again?” Honeysuckle suggested. Lieutenant Harper looked at Boston who shook her head.

“Maybe,” Lieutenant Harper smiled, and she and Boston went through the gate. Lockhart, Captain Decker, and Mingus brought up the rear.

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

Monday

Avalon 1.1, a single week episode sees the bokarus back off.  There are ghouls in the area. Until then, Happy Reading

 

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Avalon Pilot part III-8: Bokarus

M G Kizzia Leave a comment

Roland happily helped Boston into the woods.  Lockhart, Captain Decker and Lieutenant Harper kept their eyes open in case any people escaped the trouble on the plains by wandering in among the trees.  Lincoln kept thinking of things to jot down in his notebook and his wife made sure he did not walk into any trees.  Mingus appeared to be thinking hard about something else and stayed quiet.  Doctor Procter walked out front with his eyes glued to the amulet.  He did walk into a couple of trees.

After a stop for a snack and a chance for Boston to rest, they entered a section of the forest that somehow felt darker and more oppressive than before.

“A bit like walking into a goblin’s lair,” Mingus suggested.  That did not help.

Lockhart figured they were far enough into the trees by then so it was safe to shoulder the shotgun.  He offered to take a turn helping Boston.  Roland seemed reluctant to let go of her and Boston hesitated as well.  But after only a moment’s hesitation, Boston gladly let Lockhart help her, though she felt pretty sure she could have handled it on her own by then.  As they walked, she thought about how she liked having Lockhart’s big arms wrapped around her.  But then, she did not mind Roland’s arms, either.  She felt confused.  Lockhart was supposed to be a father figure—a grandfather figure.  Lockhart did not help matters when he reminded her of his previous life.

“I was married once, you know, and I have a granddaughter that is not much younger than you.”

The forest continued to darken until there came a legitimate reason for the darkness.  The sun got ready to set.  Lockhart called a halt, and though he felt certain the elves and probably Doctor Procter could have continued without trouble in the dark, he thought it best to let everyone get some rest.  Alexis showed signs of being tired, drained from the healing magic she performed on Boston, and Boston was not fully healed despite her playful attitude.

“So, what’s for supper?”  Lincoln asked first.

“Bread-crackers and bread-crackers,” Alexis answered.

“Father, make a fire and give me an hour,” Roland said.

Mingus nodded.  “My son has some talents, too.”

“A hunter?” Boston asked, as Roland disappeared into the dusk of the forest.  Mingus nodded.

“Are you offended?” Alexis wondered.

“Not at all.  I grew up with hunters.  I love a good hunt.  I can skin and cut up a deer and everything.”

“Redneck daughter,” Lockhart smiled.  “Matches her red hair.”

“Good of you to notice.”  Boston smiled right back at him.

When the tents were up and the cut-up deer roasted away, people wandered off for firewood and personal reasons, and perhaps to spend some time alone with their thoughts.  Forty-five hundred BC was a long time ago.  Sixty-five hundred years was a long time to travel.

Boston sat beside Doctor Procter and stared at the fire, her mind contemplating the impossible journey they faced.  When she turned to the man, she imagined Doctor Procter had been unreasonably quiet so far.  Her handheld database proved to be full of information about the various lives of the Kairos, but she imagined Doctor Procter knew a wealth of more intimate information, if she could just learn how to tap into it.

“So how far do we have to go?” she asked, casually.  “Do you know who the next life of the Kairos we will meet?”

The doctor took out his amulet and answered her first question with a look.  “We should easily be there by noon.”  He shook the amulet and then repeated himself.  “Yes, by noon.”

“May I see?” she asked, but when he held the amulet out for her, the first thing she saw was a blackening of his pointer finger.  It looked black all the way to the palm.  “What is that?  It looks blood black.  How did it happen?”

Doctor Procter pulled his hand back, quickly.  “It is just a bruise.  It will be fine.  It must have happened when we were escaping the fight back on the plains of Shinar.  I think someone jammed it.”

“Shouldn’t you let Alexis look at it?  Maybe she can heal it.”  Boston felt amazed at how Alexis had healed her.

“No, it is fine.  Look.”  He wiggled it.  “It is not swollen or anything.  I am sure it will clear up in a day or two.  Besides, healing magic takes a great deal out of a person.  We can’t expect her to heal every cut or scrape or bruised finger.”

“But it looks so dark.  Is that blood?”

“No.  It is fine, really.  Now if you will excuse me, I have some personal business to attend to.”  He got up, smiled, and waddled off.  His old legs looked stiff.

Boston could hardly follow him, but she made a point later of mentioning it to Lockhart, privately.  He also said to do nothing and not tell the others just yet.  He said she should keep an eye on it, but when Doctor Procter came back to the fire, she noticed he made some fairy weave gloves that fit right up beneath his long sleeves.

“I thought I better protect it for a couple of days, just to give it a chance to heal,” he said.

That made sense.  It was probably nothing, so Boston decided not to worry about it.

By four in the morning, a good hour before dawn, Boston heard the crack of a great tree.    Someone yelled.  “Everyone out of the tents, now.  Hurry!”  Boston jumped because the crack sounded very close.  Lieutenant Harper, who shared her tent, helped her, and they ran as well as Boston could.  The tree came down on their tent, and while Boston and the lieutenant were brushed back by some branches, they only got scrapes and cuts like Doctor Procter talked about.

“Boston?”  Lockhart was the first one there.

“You shouted?” the lieutenant asked.

“I woke up early, uncomfortable.  I felt someone needed to be on watch and found Captain Decker had the same feelings.”

“Boston.”  Alexis came running up.  “What is it with you?”  She began to tend their cuts.

“This is not accidental.”  Mingus’ voice came from the far end of the tree.  “The tree is old, but not dead, though what could have ripped it up, roots and all, is beyond me.”

“Is everyone all right?”  Doctor Procter came up last of all.  “What happened here?”  No one answered him.

“Roland, Captain Decker, can you watch the perimeter while we break camp?”  Lockhart asked, and the elf nodded and stepped out among the trees.  The captain simply checked his weapon as Lockhart spoke.  “Lincoln, can you get Boston’s tent out from under the trunk?”

“I’ll do it,” Mingus said.  “It is fairy weave, but it will take some finesse in its present position.”

Lockhart nodded.  “Lincoln, you get scullery.  See what there is for breakfast and be sure the fire is out.  Are you able to travel?”  That last question got directed to the women.  The lieutenant, Boston and Alexis all nodded.

“What about me?” Doctor Procter asked.

“Just get us to the gate before the tower falls and this whole time zone resets, whatever that means.”  Doctor Procter nodded like the women and went to help take down the other tents.

Two hours after sunrise, Alexis screamed.  “A face.”  She pointed.  “There was a face, there, among the leaves.”  Everyone looked, Lockhart and Roland extra close, but they saw no one.

“A face?”  Mingus wondered what his daughter saw.

Alexis took a deep breath.  “It startled me.  A man’s face, I think.”

“Well whoever he was, he is gone now.”  Captain Decker came in from behind the bushes.

“No, wait.  I don’t mean a face like on a person.  I mean the leaves shaped themselves into a face, and—and I sensed the presence of something alive.”

“I don’t see it.”  Lincoln squinted.

“No, it is gone now.”

“A face in the leaves.”  Mingus rubbed his chin.  “A green man, do you think?”

Doctor Procter looked up.  “It seems a good explanation, this far back.”

Mingus spoke to the others.  “A bokarus, a spirit of what you humans call the pristine wilderness.  They resent intrusion, particularly human intrusion, and fights against any environmental changes.  That would explain the old tree torn up by the roots.  The tree probably did not have long to live and it became a worthy sacrifice to kill us, or two of us anyway.”

“I read they are especially dangerous around water,” Doctor Procter said in his way, without explaining why.

“They like to drown people and feed off their souls—the life force.”  Mingus did the explaining.  “It is neat and clean, does no damage to the environment, and the dead body feeds those things that live in the river.  But a bokarus can be dangerous on any ground.”

“I understand.”  Boston touched the cut on her cheek.  “But will it follow us through the time gate?”

“Not likely.”  Lockhart said, and looked at Mingus who nodded to confirm that idea.  “Probably native to this land.”

“Probably the reason these woods were considered off limits to the people back on the plains,” Lieutenant Harper suggested.

“No doubt,” Lockhart got everyone moving again, though they did not have very far to go to get to the gate.  When they arrived, Doctor Procter held up the amulet, which glowed, slightly green, but he could not seem to locate the source.

“It is here, I tell you,” Doctor Procter insisted, but no one could see the shimmering air.  “But it must be here.”  He stepped forward and disappeared.

“I guess he was right.”  Lockhart said, and after only a second, Doctor Procter reappeared.

“Good to know the gates are two-way.”

“Good to know,” Lockhart agreed and he encouraged the doctor to go back through once more and everyone else to follow.  They started to move when they heard a rumbling sound like thunder in the distance.

“The tower,” Lincoln said, as he took one last look around, and they all stepped through the gate into the next time zone.

Avalon 2.12: Looking at Tomorrow

M G Kizzia Leave a comment

            The bokarus tried a third time to attack the travelers, but this time he looks to have vanished, the travelers hope permanently.  Riding off the end of a cliff and into the sea would not have been a good thing, but after that encounter it appears someone showed some wisdom.  The goddess Galatea, the one Grubby the dwarf call the Greek is escorting them the rest of the way to Danna.

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            The travelers came to the top of a small rise in the landscape and stopped.  Tents and people of all sorts along with thousands of primitive boats stretched out for miles along the coastline in front of them.  They looked like an invading army preparing to cross the channel, and they were.  They were simply awaiting the order to go from the one oversized tent that was set up facing the sea, well apart from all the others. 

            Galatea vanished at the top of the rise with the words, “My baby is hungry and probably needs to be changed.”

            “Bye,” Boston and Alexis voiced the word.  The others were too taken in by the view to speak.

            When they started down the backside of the rise, Katie had an observation.  “I was not aware the gods were ever in such close proximity to the mortal world.”

            “New jurisdiction, new rules,” Lockhart suggested.

            Lincoln had the database out and was reading carefully, not paying attention to where his horse was taking him.  “Aesgard, Olympus, a bit from Karnak and who knows what others are contributing to building a new house.  Those children will marry Danna’s children and Western Europe will become its own world.  The Children of Danna.”

            “The Celtic world, before the days of Julius Caesar,’ Alexis said.

            “Eventually, but not for a couple of thousand years,” Lincoln explained.  “The Celts will move slowly out of Central Europe as the Germanic tribes move in.”

            They came to the big tent, stopped and dismounted.  After a bit of a wait, they hobbled the horses to let them graze and waited some more.

            Danna was just standing there, staring out across the water to what would one day be called England.  She had a cat cradled like a baby in her arms.  The only movement she made was to gently pet the cat now and then.  They all thought the cat was terribly patient for a cat, but eventually it wanted down.

            “All right Mother,” Danna said. She set the beast down, but without moving her eyes from the water.  She called, also without looking.  “Lockhart.”  He stepped up as the others kept back and watched the cat move to a rug at the entrance of the oversized ten where she gave herself a bath.  They knew Mother was keeping an eye on the visitors.  “I know you can’t see England from here, but she is out there, plotting and scheming with her children to wrest control of all these lands.”

            “Who is?”

            “Domnu,” Danna said.  “I have issued a challenge to single combat, but I don’t know if she will accept.  I would guess her answer will not come today, but it may come in the night.”

            “One of you must die?” Lockhart asked.

            “Yes.” Danna said softly.  She took a deep breath and turned with a smile for the rest of the group.  “Welcome.  There are some things you need to know right from the start.”  She had everyone’s attention, but paused to look around at faces.  “Goddess though I be, I cannot send you five thousand years back into the future.  Three or four days is the normal limit for stretching time that even the gods must keep.  Besides, Lady Alice remains unsteady as long as the Storyteller remains missing.”

            “Understood,” Lockhart said.

            “And as for all the ones that are following you and mean you harm, there is little I can do there.  I see it foremost in Captain Decker’s mind, and Lincoln of course.  The Djin following you is not in this time zone, and neither are the ghouls.  The ghouls are gathering somewhere in your future so you must keep alert.  Alexis and Katie, as for Bob, your werewolf, there is nothing I can do if he remains distant and in human form.  My authority is not over humans.”

            “Father?” Alexis had to ask.  He was an elf so he was one of hers.

            “Not in this time zone yet.  I am sorry.  Sorry Roland.  But I am sure he is following, not far behind.  I will hurry him when he gets here.

            “What about the bokarus?” Lincoln asked.

            “It made three attempts on our lives just since we have been in your time,” Katie explained and Alexis looked at the ground, embarrassed by one of those attempts.

            “Mother, do you mind?” Danna asked the cat, and the cat appeared to blink.  “Thank you,” Danna said as she held out her arm, and they all saw something like a dwarf materialize, upside-down, with one foot grasped in her hand.

            “A dwarf?”  Boston asked.

            “Not even.”  Grubby was still standing next to Roland and Boston, though no one much noticed.  “This one’s got greenish skin, and green hair with no beard at all, and it is all as skinny as a one lunch, salad eating elf, er, no offense.”  Grubby tipped his hat at Roland.

            “My daughter-in-law, Morrigu snatched him just off the coast up in the direction from whence you came.  No telling what torment she had in mind, but she brought it to me because she thought it might be one of my little sprites.”

            “Not even,” Grubby repeated.

            “Lady Alice has made an island of pristine wilderness in the archipelago of Avalon.  This bokarus will live out its days there, and in time others of its kind will join him, but he will not be able to return here.”

            Danna looked briefly at the bokarus and its mouth opened.  “Help me.  Get me out of here.  This isn’t fair.  This isn’t right.  I’m getting dizzy.  Help.”

            “We had an agreement,” Danna said and she went away from that time and Faya, that was Beauty from long ago came to fill her time and place.

            The eyes of the bokarus got far bigger than humanly possible.  “No.  No.  I didn’t know it was you.”  Danna came back to her own time and place and the bokarus faded like the mist until it vanished, echoing the sound of Darth Vader on a bad day, “NOooooo.”

            Danna smiled again for everyone and waved her arm.  Their tents were all set up for the night.  The horses were gathered in, with plenty of oats to eat and a clean trough to drink from.  The little dwarf lady from the first day was there cooking, except at the moment she appeared to be giving an elder dwarf a few pieces of her mind.  They all guessed it was Gorman. There was spritely music in the distance, and plenty of chairs around a long oak table filed with all sorts of food.  Mathonwy’s tent was there and Ahnyani and Kimkeri came out to get the festivities started.  But Danna had one more thing to do.

            “Boston,” she called, and Boston was obliged to appear in front of her.  “Let’s step over here for a minute.”  There were two chairs by the big tent placed conveniently to look out over the feast.  “Do you love him?”  Danna wasted no time.

            “You know I do,” Boston said.  Her eyes shot straight to Roland while Danna took her hand.  Boston was nervous about holding the hand of an actual goddess, even if it was simply one of the lifetimes of the Kairos.

            “Will you marry him?”

            “I will if he ever asks me.  He’s kind of slow.”

            ‘Boys are slow,” Danna said and she shouted toward the table.  “Mathy!”

            Mathonwy looked over and Danna stuck her tongue out at him.  Mathy grinned.  “That is what I admire most about my big sister.  Her maturity.”  He returned the raspberries to her and went back to his feasting.  Boston covered her giggles.

            “But I sense you will not ask Roland to become human and share your life with you,”  Danna let go of Boston’s hand and stood, so Boston stood beside her.

            Boston looked at the ground and spoke quietly.  “Alexis made that choice to be with Lincoln.  That almost killed her father Mingus.  This whole thing started because he could not stand the thought of losing his only daughter to old age.  I couldn’t do that to him again, to lose his son as well.”

            “You like Mingus, don’t you?”

            Boston nodded.  “I do, despite everything.”

            “But I am not always easy to get along with,” Danna said without explanation as she put both hands gently on Boston’s head.  Boston felt a tingling sensation that went all the way to her feet.

            “What did you do?”

            “Nothing yet,” Danna admitted.  “You have a long way to go to get back to the twenty-first century.  Now we can see what your future may hold.”

            Grubby the dwarf ran up suddeny, tipped his hat to Danna and grabbed Boston by the hand.  He dragged her out to the makeshift dance area where Roland was waiting.  Roland planted a kiss smack on Boston’s lips and she returned the kiss with a willing heart before the dance began.

            Danna nodded and spoke to herself.  “A long way to go is sometimes not very far.”

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END of SEASON 2

COMING SOON:

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Forever, On the Road:  What happened to the Kairos, Glen, called the Storyteller when the travelers from Avalon began their journey?  He sacrificed himself by leaping into the primeval chaos at the beginning of history.  Now he is lost in the Second Heavens, that infinite space between Earth and the Throne of God, and he is trying to find his way back to the archipelago of Avalon, when he remembers who he is.  The Second Heavens is the realm where memories are easily broken and distorted.  It is the place where dreams come true – not just daydreams.  It defies all of the laws of physics as time and space bend and fold back on themselves, and a life relived is twisted beyond recognition.  It is the place of shadow images of living people and disembodied spirits of the dead, where Angels and Demons struggle for eternity, where myth and legend impact reality and it is a very dangerous place for someone who isn’t dead yet.

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Avalon Season 3:  Life in the twenty-first century was never like this!   In the third season, Civilization begins to show its true colors with piracy, slavery and human sacrifice..  Roland and Boston heat up.  Roland may ask Boston to marry him, and his father Mingus will have to do some serious adjusting, again.  All of the “unsavories” presently following the travelers begin to get anxious for fear the travelers may be slipping away.  And they find some new shadow beneath the full moons where Bob, the insane man they showed kindness to – well, they say werewolves always kill the ones they love.  Technological and alien wonders, magic and mayhem, and the struggle to race with the human race and stay alive. 

AVALON SEASON 3 … DON’T MISS IT …

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