Into Eden: Pangaea - Book 1 (24 page)

The drive was scenic, but slow. As the day progressed River Bend got smaller and smaller, and the Fog Mountains loomed larger and larger. Jesse was relieved to see that there was still no snow on the peaks. Enoch slept on the coach’s floor and Seth leaned back and snoozed as the coach rocked back and forth over the rough road. Lawrence, on the other hand, reached into a leather pack and pulled out a scroll and began to read.

After a while Jesse’s curiosity got the best of him.

“May I ask what you are reading?”

“
Prophecies of the Prophet
,” Lawrence replied, not looking up.

“I’ve heard of him,” Jesse said. “But I’m really not familiar with his prophecies.”

Lawrence laid the scroll in his lap. “Really? An educated man such as you is not familiar with the
Prophecies
? I can hardly believe that! What do they teach you folks in Atlantis these days?”

Jesse didn’t reply, so Lawrence went on, leaning forward and laying his ears back as he talked about a subject that he obviously found fascinating, “You know that the Prophet lives in these very mountains? At least, it’s said that he does. No one has seen him for many years, so it may be that he’s no longer among the living. But the pass that connects the Territories with Eden is named in his honor, ‘Prophet’s Pass.’”

“I’d heard it called that,” Jesse replied, “but I’ve never really thought about how it got its name.”

“This prophet is the same one who predicted the coming of the so-called, An-nef War—although when I was growing up it was called the ‘Human War.’ He said that a great flood would flow down from the mountains drowning all who lived in Mountain Shadows. And it happened—just as he said. Mizriam’s legions swept out of the mountains and killed all who lived in the city.”

“Wait a minute,” Jesse responded. “That ‘prophecy’ is so vague that anyone could read what they wanted to into it. It could have been a flood, a rockslide or just the ramblings of a senile old man.”

Lawrence continued unfazed, “The Prophet also predicted the death of your emperor, Herculous I, and said that he would rise from the dead!”

“Herculous I has been dead for two-hundred years! His tomb is in Atlantis! I’ve seen paintings of it! Unless I’m mistaken, he’s still dead and still in his tomb! Now, when Herculous rises from the dead and pops the lid on his sarcophagus open then we’ll talk. Otherwise, I think that your prophet has been smoking too much of your mountain weed.”

Lawrence said no more, but went back to reading his scroll.

After a while, Jesse spoke again, “Look, I’m sorry. I completely overreacted and was out of line. I’ve got no right to be criticizing your beliefs. I sometimes question the gods myself.”

Lawrence still said nothing, but continued to read.

“Listen, Lawrence, why do you believe that this prophet-guy should be trusted? I mean, believing that someone who’s been dead for two-hundred years is going to come back to life is a bit of a stretch, don’t you think? And you’re basing your belief on what? A subjective interpretation of a prophecy about a flood?”

Lawrence laid the scroll down gently, and chose his reply carefully. “I do not believe the Prophet because his prophecies come true. I believe them because I know that his other writings are true.”

“I’m losing you, Lawrence.”

“The Prophet says that to fear God and keep his commands is the whole duty of man. What could be simpler than that? In over four-hundred years of life I have affirmed that truth again and again. The Prophet says that we are to love God and love our neighbors as ourselves. That is truth. Does it sound like the ramblings of a senile old man?”

“I guess not.” Jesse fidgeted in his seat.

“Then if the Prophet is right about our relationship to God, then why shouldn’t I trust him when he says that the emperor will rise from the dead? It makes no difference to me if it has been two-hundred years or two-thousand years. Truth is truth. It will happen.”

Jesse glanced at Seth, who was still sleeping. Enoch was snoring away on the floor.

“Does your Prophet say anything about revenge?”

“Yes. He says to love your enemy and that, ‘It is mine to repay, says God.’”

“Well, the gods must have been sleeping when they let my father’s murderers get away.”

“Is that why you seek to go to Eden, Jesse? To avenge your father’s death?”

Jesse knew that he had said too much already. “Like I said, I’m going to Mountain Shadows on business.”

Lawrence opened his mouth to say more, and then closed it. Jesse was an angry young man. He had seen such men before, and many of them died before their time. God-willing, Jesse would not.

Jesse stared out the window for a while. He needed to learn to keep his mouth shut, he thought. One of these days, Jesse, your mouth will land you in some real trouble. After a while Lawrence remarked quite casually, “We’re almost to the way-station.”

Jesse shook Seth to wake him, “Seth! Look out the window! Lawrence says that we’re almost to the way-station!”

Seth looked out the window, and then banged on the roof of the coach with his fist, “Driver! Stop the coach! This is where we get off!”

Seth, Jesse and Enoch got out and the driver tossed them down their things.

“Good thing that you woke me up,” Seth remarked. “We nearly drove past the road to my estate.”

Jesse waived to Lawrence as the coach pulled away, “See you tomorrow!” he shouted. The wolf-head nodded as the coach began to rumble on up the road.

The walk to Seth’s estate was only a mile, and the air here was cool. It was a pleasant stroll, really, thought Jesse. All around him he could see mountains and farmland. Tidy farms nestled in the foothills of another mountain range far from the one that he knew as home. When they arrived at Seth’s estate it was smaller than he had envisioned. More white-washed stone as was the case in River Bend, with a roof covered with red-clay tiles. The house was one large “U” with the open area facing out over a valley with a spectacular view of vineyards and olive groves below. The open area itself was crossed with beams that were covered with grapevines, now laden with deep purple grapes. A few feet down the hillside was a smaller house, with a stone pathway connecting the two buildings.

“Down there’s the guest-house,” Seth announced. “The two of you go and make yourselves comfortable. Rama will ring the dinner-bell when supper’s ready. You should have a good hour or so to relax and clean-up if you wish. And don’t worry, Enoch, I’ll make sure that Rama has plenty of leftovers for you.” Enoch started to wag his tail, and then bounded down the walkway ahead of Jesse.

As Seth had predicted, the supper-bell rang about an hour later. Jesse had taken the time to wash up and dressed himself in his finest—and only—set of clean clothes. Seth’s wife had set a table on the veranda overlooking the valley and had prepared a sumptuous meal of pheasant, olives, barley bread and red wine.

Seth introduced his wife, Rama, a slightly plump but attractive lady, to Jesse and Enoch. Jesse shook her hand and gave a bow, “Pleased to meet you.”

“The pleasure’s mine.”

Enoch raised one paw and said, “Please to meet you.”

Rama clapped her hands over her mouth in a look that was part shock, part terror.

“Oh Dear…” Seth said. “I’m sorry, Rama, I forgot to tell you. Enoch here is a spirit-host. I’m sure you’ve heard me tell of them from my days in Atlantis.”

Rama recovered from her momentary fright, and bent over to address Enoch directly, “I’m so sorry, Mr. Dog—I mean, Enoch—it’s just that I didn’t know. I was so surprised when I heard you speak. We don’t have many talking animals down here in the Territories.”

“No need to apologize,” Enoch replied. “We don’t have many thinking humans up in Atlantis.” Enoch then smiled his pointy grin.

“Yes...well...” was all that Rama could say.

“Supper is served!” Seth announced. “Let’s eat before it gets cold!”

As they sat at the table Jesse noted how well that Seth and Rama got along. They would tell jokes and laugh like they actually enjoyed each other’s company.

“Rama’s the brains of the family,” Seth said at one point. “I’m a fairly good salesman, but she knows money. As for me—I like to spend it as soon as I make it. Rama, on the other hand, can turn one denarius into two in a fortnight. When I’m home she takes good care of me, and when I’m away she takes good care of the business. Yes, I’m a very lucky man.”

Jesse could see Rama blushing.

“Oh stop it!” she said. “We just make a good team.”

A team, thought Jesse. That’s what they were.

Seth leaned over and gave Rama a peck on the cheek.

The two of them were not afraid to show affection to each other, Jesse thought. He did not remember his father ever showing affection to any of his wives, including his mother. Jesse’s mother had been his father’s favorite wife—that was true—but there were other factors involved there. Factors between a man and a woman that Nashon wasn’t about to discuss with his sons. Did his father love his mother? He thought not. But there was a love between Seth and Rama that was unmistakable, and Jesse was beginning to feel jealousy toward the older man. Somewhere, he thought, there had to be a Rama for him. Meroni was definitely not her.

When the meal was concluded, Rama brought out a strawberry-rhubarb pie for the humans, and a platter heaped with the remaining pheasant for Enoch. “Here, Mr. Enoch,” she said, “are the leftovers that you’ve been promised.”

Enoch tore into the pheasant like he hadn’t eaten in days. He chomped and munched so loudly that the humans at the table couldn’t help but laugh.

“Jesse and I have been on a very fine adventure,” Seth told his wife. “We’ve been drugged by highwaymen, survived a great dust storm, traversed a desert, and killed a lion!”

“By the gods!” his wife exclaimed. “You don’t say so!”

“Yes, it’s all true,” Seth continued.

“You forgot to mention surviving, ‘The Dirty Lady,’” Jesse included. “That was the most fearsome thing that we faced!”

“The dirty lady?” Rama asked.

“Baki is stoopid!” Enoch broke in, then immediately began his coughing laugh.

“Did the dog choke on a bone?” Rama asked, concerned.

“No, my dear. He’ll be fine,” assured Seth. Then Seth began retelling their tales, starting with their introduction at Whitehurst and concluding with their night at The Dirty Lady. When he concluded that last account, Rama was snorting and laughing so hard that Seth was afraid that he’d see some of her pheasant again. Enoch started his coughing laugh back up and even Jesse started to chuckle when thinking of the events of the previous evening.

When they were done with the tales of the road, they sat back and enjoyed the sun as it sat behind the mountains in the west. Jesse looked out toward the mountains, and thought that he saw the silhouette of a dragon.

“Is that a pterodactyl?” Jesse asked.

Seth cupped his hand over his eyes and squinted toward the setting sun.

“Can’t be,” he said. “Not at that size. Pterodactyls rarely get much bigger than a coach. That dragon’s huge! Must be the size of house! It must be a quetzalcoatlus. Has to be.”

The four of them watched the dragon as it swooped along the mountain range to the west. It was a graceful—but extremely dangerous—creature.

“That’s why I built these houses with tile roofs. Not as easy for one of those things to torch if they’re having a bad day. A lot of the farms around here still use thatch, and wood shakes are predominant between here and Mountain Shadows. I hope it’s just out on a hunt, not one that’s got young in the nest. Enoch, you’d better take care. A quetzalcoatlus been known to scoop up a dog from time to time. Even cattle if they get hungry enough. Better look up whenever you’re outside.”

Good advice, thought Enoch. He’d come too far and lived too long to end his days as a meal for a dragon.

The next morning Seth drove Jesse and Enoch in his carriage to the mountain way-station to see them off.

“I’ve enjoyed our time together, Jesse. Despite all of our travails along the way.”

“And I enjoyed having you with me. I couldn’t have killed that lion without you.”

“Jesse…” Seth spoke haltingly, searching for the right words to say, “I do wish that you would reconsider your course. Eden is dangerous beyond all imagination for a human. And it’s not just the monsters in the jungle that you have to be afraid of. An-nef don’t take kindly to humans. I’m afraid that you will not have long to live when you are spotted. Many an-nef are not as congenial as Lawrence.”

“I know that better than most, Seth. Thank you for your concern. But my cause is just. The gods will take care of me.”

Again Seth hesitated, not knowing what to say. At last he spoke to Enoch, “Take care of the young man, will you?”

“You betcha, Seth! I’ll treat him as I would my own son.” Enoch winked at Jesse, who tried to stifle a smile. He remembered how Enoch said that he had treated his sons.

“Farewell, Seth,” Jesse said at last.

“No. I think that it’s just, ‘Goodbye.’ Till we meet again!”

The two shook hands and Jesse stepped down from the carriage to wait for the coach. He watched Seth ride away and wondered when—or if—he would see his friend again. In a few minutes Lawrence came out of the way-station, impeccably dressed, and ready to conclude his journey to Mountain Shadows. Behind him a human carried a large chest covered in leather.