We returned to our quarters in one of the high temples, and there, I remember, the American girl, Madelaine Carter, finally allowed herself some tears, mourning for Miss Saleena.
I must confess, that night, I too mourned for that beautiful and mysterious young lady. I recall I had so hoped our nascent acquaintance, our polite ‘How do you do’s might have had a chance to develop into a friendship. Perhaps something more than that …
Chapter 55
1479, the Lost City of the Windtalkers
‘She is not necessarily …’ Rashim chose the next word carefully, ‘… gone. She could be in there still. That, or she may have emerged into another time. Even as I speak, she might be walking around in Jerusalem, in the time of Jesus Christ.’
Liam watched as Rashim did his best to console them. But, like Maddy, he suspected that if Sal was gone, then she was gone for good.
It had felt like a part of her had already walked out on them long before now. She’d been quietly distancing herself from them both for a while now. At the beginning the three of them had felt like a tightly knit family, like siblings – the Three Musketeers, squaring up to danger together, a phalanx of trusted friendship. However, in recent weeks, she’d seemed so preoccupied, keeping her troubles wrapped up inside herself and letting slip nothing apart from the occasional moment when he’d caught her gazing sullenly at images from the future on their computer screens.
Liam realized they’d lost a part of Sal the day they’d learned exactly what they were.
He was certain she had stepped into that field deliberately. It hadn’t been a mistake or an accident. Her discarded shirt lying on the floor of the chamber was as distinct and clear a message as a goodbye written carefully on a sheet of notepaper.
She was either looking for an escape, perhaps looking for her own answers – or maybe she was simply looking for an end? Either way, as far as Liam was concerned, that shirt was her telling them ‘I’m not coming back’.
He wondered if he could have done more, if he could have made more of an effort to corner her and force her to talk to him. To stop brooding, open up and talk about what she was feeling instead of keeping it all bottled up inside her.
He’d tried that once. Back in that abandoned elementary school. It had been a hard and bitter conversation – for both of them that horrible revelation had still been so fresh, so raw – but she’d been honest with him then, he thought. They’d talked like a brother and a sister sharing some sort of a bereavement; the loss of their innocence, the loss of who they were.
At the very least, talking about it had reminded them both that they had each other. They weren’t alone facing that awful truth.
Why hadn’t he done that again, though? Had he really been far too busy to find time to really talk to her again?
Rashim was standing at the edge of the temple’s walled terrace and looking out over the low stone wall down on to the moonlit plaza, talking quietly about something with Billy. And Liam noticed Maddy was being consoled by Adam. The young man had an arm stretched round her narrow shoulders, he was holding her, squeezing one of her hands gently in his. By the flickering light of the fire in the clay bowl, he saw Adam tenderly wipe tears from her cheek with the back of his hand.
There was something else he hadn’t noticed. Adam and Maddy.
Jay-zus. When did they start … being like that?
H’ed suspected Maddy had some feelings for Adam. He’d asked her once and she’d done her best to laugh it off and tell him he was being ridiculous. But here, now, it was clear she and Adam were more than just ‘colleagues’. At some point during the last few days they must have stepped over an invisible line.
He smiled. Good.
She needed Adam. Liam could hold her and tell her it wasn’t her fault, it wasn’t anyone’s fault that Sal had finally buckled under pressure. He could do that, but it would merely be the comfort offered by a close colleague. The comfort offered by a loving brother at best.
He was glad she had Adam.
‘What will we be doing now, Mr O’Connor?’ Bertie warmed his hands over the fire, then sat down next to Liam. They both stared at the flickering flames for a while, Liam glancing occasionally over the top at Maddy and Adam beyond the shimmering ripples of heat haze. She was crying still. Liam had never seen her look so beaten, so broken and fragile.
So utterly spent.
She seemed like just an ordinary nineteen-year-old girl now. A girl who’d had enough and just wanted a home to go back to, trifling problems with boyfriends, college assignments, overdue library books and suffocating, nosey parents.
‘I imagine we’ll head back to London,’ replied Liam. ‘Drop you back home where you belong, Mr Wells.’
‘And what will you do then?’
Liam nodded slowly. What then, indeed?
Chapter 56
White. A featureless white. A swirling milk-white soup of dimensions beyond any possible comprehension. Home to an infinity of bizarre planes of existence, creatures that mere human eyes cannot begin to interpret and find form. We cannot see these entities. Our minds turn what we do see into curls of fog, the closest our feeble brains can come to conjuring up an understandable image. And, while we cannot truly ‘see’ them, these entities that exist beyond three dimensions can certainly see us.
But we’re unimportant, uninteresting to them.
As a person might look down on a child’s drawing of a stick man and pity the scribbled wretch’s limited world, the two dimensions of a sheet of paper, so these entities barely notice this pitifully limited universe of height, depth and width.
And yet one such entity is interested.
Very interested.
One such entity is drawn by the ebb and flow of energy somewhere in the mist, the foolish ‘noisy’ opening and closing of a small window – like a voice crying wolf far too loudly in a dark forest full of menace. The entity is drawn, like a shark idling in sun-warmed shallows, idling, then suddenly alert at the first faint ultra-diluted trace of blood.
This entity knows that foolish lower-dimension creatures have recently acquired the habit of blundering through its plane of existence. Blundering so recklessly, ignorantly.
The entity follows the vibrations of recently stirred energy, like a spider feeling the subtlest tremble of a thread of web silk. Smelling the trail, sensing the vibrations.
Closing in on the foolish come-for-me cry.
Black. A featureless black. The darkness of the chamber was complete. A wave-a-hand-in-front-of-your-face-and-not-know-it’s-there darkness. The chamber was vacant. With Maddy temporarily unable, unwilling, to maintain the role, as leader-by-default it fell to Liam to step in and make some decisions. He had considered posting Bob or Becks down here to keep an eye on the column overnight, just in case something happened – in case Sal emerged. But then he thought better of it. He wanted the support units close by tonight. The mood of the people in this city seemed to be shifting subtly. They were still being treated with cautious deference, looked after respectfully, but he sensed the awe with which they’d first been greeted was wearing off. Perhaps these people were beginning to suspect they were just human after all.
And if it did finally occur to them that Liam and the others were mere human visitors taking advantage of their hospitality, then what? Would they feel aggrieved that mere mortals had tried to pass themselves off as heavenly messengers? Would there be resentment? Anger? Revenge?
So the chamber sat empty. Thus there were no witnesses when the column silently opened and light momentarily filled the dark void. If either Bob or Becks had been standing there, not only would they have seen the shaft of light from the column sliding open from floor to ceiling, they would have registered the momentary surge of energy as something quite invisible to the naked eye emerged from the tachyon beam.
Something large and powerful.
It entered the dark cavernous space, invisible and silent, the only clue to its presence the stirring of static energ
y, the faintest odour of ozone. Moving slowly through the dark, the entity explored its surroundings. Somewhere in this invisible cloud of energy an animal-like mind processed simple destructive thoughts; thoughts that could almost be labelled ‘hate’.
The undulating form finally encountered a claustrophobic stairwell and, curious about its surroundings, glided up the steps into a small chamber, then drifted through a narrow doorway into a larger, low-ceilinged chamber full of squat stone columns.
It sensed the presence of life not so very far away, simple beings that lived in their simple dimensional universe. It wondered what these life forms might look like on the inside. What they looked like turned completely inside out.
Its substance – rippling energy – phased in and out of solidity, one moment invisible and as intangible as tendrils of wind-swept smoke drifting away on a lively breeze from a bonfire. The next moment, just barely visible, the ghost of an outline of an incomprehensible form, yet as solid and material, as real, as any other object in this universe.
As it weaved through the squat pillars of the low-ceilinged chamber, phasing in and out of physical form, its momentarily material bulk bumped heavily against several pillars. One of them collapsed, bringing down with it several of the plaza’s large stone slabs.
The entity found the exit and emerged into the weak grey-blue light of an overcast dawn sky. Heavy drops of rain came down and alternated between passing through the entity in its non-corporeal form, sizzling and turned to steam by the crackling energy within. Then, as the entity phased, the rain no longer passed through, but spattered against the ghostly outline of it, the spray of impact droplets giving a clearer sense of its shape.
It hesitated, trying to make sense of what it saw; even in this simple three-axis world the jumbled stone geometry was confusing. It could sense life forms all around it, thousands of them, all still, all at rest, complacent, not knowing a monster was stalking in their midst.
Something moved towards the entity. Small and noisy. It growled and snapped.
Simple life.
The entity was curious about the little snarling, barking animal, wanted to feel the texture of the creature, both inside and out.
Its invisible form materialized and a long ‘arm’ reached out.
Chapter 57
1479, the Lost City of the Windtalkers
‘We have a bit of a problem,’ said Rashim quietly.
Liam stirred from his sleep as Rashim shook his shoulder gently. ‘Whuh? What is it?’
‘I will tell you when I have awoken the others. I will meet you at the temple entrance downstairs in five minutes.’
Liam watched Rashim leave the room. He splashed cool water on to his face from the clay bowl placed beside his cot, then got up and got dressed. Before he headed down the stone stairwell to the floor below, he stepped out on to the terrace into the warming sun. He looked down at the plaza, and noted a knot of people standing around something dark. Was that a hole there? Had some of the plaza collapsed?
He then noticed another, much larger knot of people to one side of the plaza, not too far from the trench-entrance to the underground chambers. They were looking at something on the floor between them. He could hear their voices carrying up to him, a note of alarm and unrest quite clear in the timbre of their cries.
Downstairs in the temple’s large entrance hall, the others were already assembled. ‘What’s going on down there on the plaza, Rashim? I saw loads of people looking at something.’
Maddy nodded. ‘Yeah, what’s going on?’ To Liam’s eyes she seemed better this morning. Not a complete return to her usual prickly, bad-tempered self. Just a step or two in the right direction. They might have lost Sal – they might get her back yet – it was hard to know whether to grieve or carry on hoping. At least Maddy seemed to have found her voice again.
‘I was taking a morning stroll and I was confronted by a group of people.’ Rashim pointed to a graze on his forehead. ‘Young men. One of them threw a stone at me.’ He shook his head. ‘I am not so sure they consider us godly now.’
‘What did you do to upset them, Rashim?’
He shook his head. ‘Nothing!’ He lowered his voice slightly. ‘But I think they may be on to us now. I suggest it might be sensible to make our polite apologies and leave some time today.’
‘I saw a commotion going on down on the plaza,’ said Liam. ‘Something’s happened down there. Them Indians were looking at something.’
‘Then we should go and take a look at that first,’ said Maddy.
‘What?’ Rashim frowned at her. ‘We should get our things and leave!’
‘If we’re supposed to be godly, then we can’t afford to appear frightened of them! We can’t just run!’ She looked around at the others. ‘We’ll all walk down to the plaza together. We’ll look calm, relaxed, confident … and we’ll check out what’s going on.’
‘We should leave, now!’
‘What’s that, Rashim? Leave behind us that huge frikkin’ tachyon beam and pretend we never found it? That what you’re suggesting? Never come back here? Is that it? Just forget we found the biggest mystery of all and go back to joyriding our way around history?’
‘I’d like to know more,’ said Liam. ‘I think at least some of our answers lie here …’ He shrugged. ‘Or if not here, then maybe right at the other end.’ He smiled. ‘Maybe Jesus has them.’
‘Just a quick look, Rashim,’ said Maddy. ‘We’ll show our faces, show them we’re not afraid of them.’ She offered him a consoling shrug. ‘We can’t just walk away from this. Not yet. Not until we’ve got some answers from it. Is that being stupid?’
He narrowed his eyes behind his glasses. Not an answer exactly.
‘Come on, then. Just a quick look.’
They made their way downhill, along a narrow cobbled thoroughfare flanked on either side by small clay-brick homes stacked on top of each other. Faces peered suspiciously out at them from dark interiors. It seemed suspicion had quickly spread right across this city; these strangers’ recent activities in their holiest place, below ground, were now beginning to cause concern.
They emerged on to the plaza and were very quickly spotted by the gathered crowd. They began to advance menacingly towards them.
‘Get ready for trouble,’ Maddy muttered from the side of her mouth to the support units.
‘We are ready,’ said Becks.
The people’s elder, Pat-ishka, assisted at the arms by a young man on each side, led his people towards them. Presently, he drew up in front of them and began to berate them in a high-pitched voice, gesturing wildly behind him.
‘Anyone any idea what he’s saying?’ asked Maddy.
‘He not very happy,’ said Billy.
‘I guessed that.’
‘Do you think he’s angry about a hole in the plaza?’ Liam nodded across the open space. ‘See? There’s a chunk of it that must have collapsed last night.’
Maddy craned her neck to see. Indeed, there was a hole several yards across. She guessed one of the support struts must have given way during the night. ‘We didn’t cause that to happen!’ She looked uncertainly at the others. ‘Did we?’
‘That column made some very deep noises yesterday. The sonic vibrations may have caused some structural damage,’ said Rashim.
She cursed under her breath. ‘Then we’ll offer to repair it.’
‘The elder not angry,’ said Billy. ‘He afraid. Very afraid.’
‘Afraid? Of what? That the whole plaza’s going to collap–’
‘No.’ Billy nodded to the right. ‘He use a word Tawahka use. Over there. Something over there.’
The old man noted the direction of Billy’s gaze and beckoned them all to come with him. He seemed to want to show them something. It felt more like an order than an invitation.
‘What’s his problem?’ Maddy uttered. Pat-ishka impatiently reached out and grabbed her forearm and pulled at her gently. Bob and Becks stirred uneasily. Maddy raised her fre
e hand to indicate she was fine. ‘OK! All right! Sure, we’ll come and look.’
She walked alongside him awkwardly, his grip insistent on her arm. Her brisk step slowed down to account for his old man’s shuffle.
Adam leaned towards her as he walked alongside. ‘One doesn’t manhandle a god like this,’ he said quietly. ‘Be very careful, Maddy. I think they’re on to us.’
She nodded. Adam was right. They’ve figured us out.
Ahead of them a gap parted in the gathered crowd, allowing them passage through. Presently, the last of the Indians gave way to reveal what it was they had all been inspecting.
The stone slab floor was awash with dark sepia spatters and smears of drying blood. Among all of it – gallons of blood by the look – she picked out what appeared to be shreds of flesh and fur, nuggets and shards of shattered bone, a purple loop of glistening intestine, the round pink nub of some organ.
‘What the hell …?’
Liam drew up beside her. ‘Jay-zus … something got shredded!’
It reminded Liam of the remains he’d once witnessed in the jungle of the late Cretaceous: the inside-out remains of a school kid. The uncontrolled energy of chaos space let loose on a mere child.
‘Turned inside out and thrown around a bit,’ added Adam. ‘Looks like something bloody well exploded.’
‘Good God!’ Bertie gasped.
Maddy spotted the head of some animal, pink with shreds of attached muscle and flesh, but its skin flayed off. Bloodshot and glazed eyeballs glared accusingly at her from bone sockets. Teeth exposed by the lack of lips looked as if they were bared angrily.
‘That was dog, I think,’ said Billy. He pointed to another flayed animal’s head. ‘That one, goat.’ He pointed to another. ‘That one, llama.’