Stones Of Power - The Complete Chronicles Of The Jerusalem Man Part 12

They had horned helms?' asked Karitas, staring intently at Shannow's face.

'Yes. How could you know?'

'I had the same dream. It is the land, Jon - as I told you, it grants rare powers. That was no dream, you saw the h.e.l.lborn in action.'

'Thank the Lord they are not near here!'

'Yes. My little village would be slain. We could not fight them, not even with the Ark weapons.'

'One pistol,' said Shannow, 'would not keep away a small Brigand band.'

'There is more than one pistol in the Ark, Jon. I will show you in the Spring.'

'The h.e.l.lborn have many riders. There must have been two to three hundred in the attack on the village.'

'Would that they only had three hundred. What we saw was one raiding column and there are more than twenty such. The s.e.xual excesses among the h.e.l.lborn mean a plethora of babes and their tribe grows fast. It was always so throughout history: the migration of nations. Overpopulation causes people to move into the lands of their neighbours, bringing war and death. The h.e.l.lborn are moving and one day they will be here.'

'I find it hard to believe that the Lord of Hosts can permit such a people,' said Shannow.

'Read your Bible, Jon. Study the a.s.syrians, the Babylonians, the Egyptians and the Greeks.

Even the Romans. And what of the Philistines, the Moabites and the Edomites? Without evil, there is no counterpoint to goodness.'

'Too deep for me, Karitas. I am a simple man.'

'I wish that I was,' said Karitas with feeling.

For much of the day Shannow chopped firewood, using a long axe with a six-pound head.

His back ached, but by dusk he was satisfied that his strength was returning with speed.

That night he dreamt once more of the h.e.l.lborn. This time they raided the Carns and the slaughter was terrible to behold, the blue- and yellow-streaked savages caught in a murderous crossfire. Hundreds died and only a few escaped into the snow-covered woods.

At midnight Shannow was awakened by a light tapping at his door. He opened it and saw Curopet standing in the moonlight, a blanket around her slender form.

Shannow stepped aside to allow her in and pushed shut the door. She ran to the fire and added kindling to the coals.

'What is it, Curopet?'

'I am going to die,' she whispered.

Her face was strained and she was close to tears as Shannow moved to kneel beside her in the firelight.

'Everyone dies,' said Shannow, at a loss.

Then you have seen it too, Thunder-maker?'

'Seen what?'

'The horned ones attacking our village.'

'No. The Carns have been attacked. Tonight.'

'Yes, the Carns,' she said dully. 'I dreamt of that two nights ago. I am to die. No children for Curopet. No man through the long winter nights. We are all to die.'

'Nonsense. The future is not set in stone; we make our own destinies,' said Shannow, pulling her to him. The blanket slid away from her shoulders as she moved towards him and he saw that she was naked, her body glowing in the dancing light of the blaze.

'Do you promise me that I will live?' she asked.

'I cannot promise, but I will defend you with my life.'

'You would do that for me?'

'Yes.'

'And I am not your wife?'

'No. But you are close to me, Curopet, and I do not desert my friends in their need.'

Curopet snuggled into him, her b.r.e.a.s.t.s pushing against the bare skin of his chest.

Shannow closed his eyes and drew back.

'Let me stay?' she asked and he nodded and stood. She went with him to his blankets and together .they lay entwined. Shannow did not touch her and she slept with her body pressed close to him and her head on his breast. Shannow slept not at all.

In the morning Shannow was summoned with all warriors to the long cabin where Karitas sat on a high chair, the only chair in the village. The warriors - thirty-seven in all, counting Shannow - sat before him.

Karitas looked tired and gaunt. When everyone was seated, he spoke.

'Five of our ESPer women have seen an attack on us by the h.e.l.lborn. We cannot run and we cannot hide. All our stores are here. Our lives are here. And we cannot fight, for they have thunder-guns and are many.' He fell silent and leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees, his head bent and eyes staring at the floor.

'Then we are to die?' asked a warrior. Shannow glanced at the man; he was stocky and powerful and his eyes glowed fiercely.

'It would appear that way, Shonal. I can think of nothing.'

'How many are they?' asked Shonal.

'Three hundred.'

'And all with thunder-guns?'

'Yes.'

'Why should they attack us?' questioned another man.

'It is their way.'

'Could we not send someone to them?' suggested a third man. 'Tell them we will be their friends - offer to share our food?'

'It will avail us nothing; they are killers and drinkers of blood. They have wiped out the Carns and we are next.'

'We must find their camp,' said Shannow, standing and turning to face the men. 'It is Winter and they must have tents and food stores. We will burn their tents, destroy their stores and kill many. Perhaps then they will be driven back to their homelands until the Spring.'

'And will you lead us, Thunder-maker?'

'Indeed I will,' promised the Jerusalem Man.

With sombre faces the men left the cabin to prepare their weapons and bid farewell to their wives and children. Shannow remained with Karitas. Thank you,' said the old man, his head still bowed.

'You owe me no thanks, Karitas.'

'I know you think me a little mad, but I am not stupid, Jon. There is no victory to be gained here. You have made a n.o.ble gesture, but my people will still die.'

'Nothing is certain,' Shannow told him. 'When I rode the hills I saw a number of shallow caves. Fetch the women and children, and as many stores as they can carry, and take them there. Cover your tracks where you can.'

Karitas looked up. 'You believe we have a chance?'

'It depends on whether this is an invasion or a raid.'

'That I can tell you. It is the ritual of the Blood Feast, where newly-ordained warriors gain their battle honours.'

'You know a great deal about them, old man.'

'Indeed I do. The man who leads them calls himself Abaddon and I used to know him well.'

'It is a name from the Book,' said Shannow sharply. 'An obscenity named in Revelation as the leader of the Devil's forces.'

'Yes. Well, in those days he was simply Lawrence Welby - a lawyer and a socialite. He organized curious parties, with nubile young women. He was witty, urbane and a Satanist.

He followed the teachings of a man called Crowley, who preached, "Do what thou wilt is the whole of the law." Like me he survived the Fall, and like me he appears to be immortal.

He believes he is the Anti-Christ.'

'Maybe he is,' said Shannow.

'He had a wife back then, a wonderful woman - like light and dark they were. I was a little in love with her myself; still am, for that matter.'

'What happened to her?'

'She became a G.o.ddess, Shannow.'

'Will Abaddon be with the raiders?'

'No, he will be in Babylon. They will be led by seasoned officers, though. I cannot see how my few people can oppose them - do you have a plan?'

'Yes. I shall prime my weapons and then I shall pray.'

'I think you have your priorities right, at least,' commented Karitas.

'They are only men, Karitas. They bleed, they die. And I cannot believe the Lord of Hosts will allow them to succeed.'

As Shannow rose to leave, Karitas stopped him. He took the Stone from his pouch and offered it to the taller man.

'Without it you may die. Take it with you.'

'No, keep it here - you may need its powers.'

'It is almost used up, Shannow. You see, I refuse to feed it.'

'How do you feed a stone?'

'With blood and death.'

'Do not worry about me, Karitas. I will survive. Just get your people into the hills and keep that pistol primed.'

Shannow returned to his hut and loaded his three spare cylinders, stowing them in his greatcoat pockets. Then he took the Bible from his saddlebag and turned to Jeremiah: 'Thus, saith the Lord, Behold, a people comethfrom the north country and a great nation shall be raised from the sides of the earth. They shall lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea, and they ride upon horses, set in array as men for war against thee . . .'

Shannow set aside the Section and closed his eyes. In the distance thunder rolled across the heavens.

He rose and left the hut, his saddle on his right shoulder. In the open ground beyond, thirty of the warriors awaited him with set faces; their quivers full of arrows.

'I will ride out and scout the land. Follow my tracks and wait for me where you see this sign.' He made the sign of the cross with his arms and then walked past them to the paddock.

Shannow headed east and did not once look back to see the warriors in single file loping behind him.

The country was open and in places snow had drifted to a depth of more than ten feet. The gelding skirted the drifts and headed on towards the high ground and the distant timber line of the Carns' territory. Shannow had seen the attack on the Carns' village, and he guessed that the h.e.l.lborn would camp there overnight. If he was right they now had two options: they could rest for the day at the site of their victory, or they could ride on immediately towards Karitas' village. If the former, Shannow's small band stood a chance.

If the latter, then the two parties would meet on open ground and the villagers would be ma.s.sacred.

The day was icy cool and a breeze was blowing from the north. Shannow shivered and gathered his coat at the collar. The gelding pushed on through the morning and the distant trees grew steadily closer.

The crack of a pistol echoed in the air and Shannow drew on the reins, and scanned the trees. He could see nothing, and the distance was too great for the shot to have been aimed at him. Warily he rode on. Several more shots sounded from the woods - the h.e.l.lborn were hunting the last of the Carns. Shannow grinned. The first danger was past.

At the foot of the last rise before the woods, Shannow dismounted. He gathered two sticks and tied them in a cross which he thrust into a snowdrift; it would be many hours before fresh falls of snow would cover it. Then he guided the gelding up the rise and into the trees.

A blue- and yellow-streaked figure hurtled from the snow-covered bushes, saw Shannow, screamed and fell as he attempted to change the course of his flight. Then a horse leapt the bush. Shannow's pistol fired as the animal landed and the helmed rider catapulted from the saddle. Shannow c.o.c.ked the pistol and waited, ignoring the cowering Carn who was gazing open-mouthed at the dead h.e.l.lborn. The rider was obviously alone and Shannow dismounted, tying the gelding's reins to a bush. He approached the corpse; the rider could not have been more than fifteen years of age -and a handsome boy, even with the round hole in his forehead. Shannow knelt beside him, lifting the boy's pistol. As Karitas had shown him, it was loaded with cartridges. Shannow opened the rider's hip pouch; there were more than twenty bullets there and he transferred them to his own pockets before thrusting the boy's pistol in his belt. Then he turned to the Carn.

'Can you understand me?' asked Shannow.

The man nodded.

'I have come to kill the h.e.l.lborn.'

The man edged close and spat into the dead rider's face.

'Where is your camp?' asked Shannow.

'By tall rocks,' answered the savage, pointing north-east.