Part 106 (2/2)

No, he told himself. I have made no difference.

Twice he had tried to put aside the mantle of the Jerusalem Man, once with the widow Donna Taybard, and then with Beth McAdam. Believing him to be dead, Donna had married another man. Beth had grown tired of Jon Cade's holiness.

You are a man of straw, Shannow, he chided himself. A year before, when Daniel Cade first moved to Pilgrim's Valley he had visited the Preacher in the small vestry behind the church.

'Good morning, brother Jon,' he said, 'you are looking well for a man of your years.'

'They do not know me here, Daniel. Everything has changed.'

Daniel shook his head. 'Men don't change, brother. All that happens is that they learn how best to disguise the lack of change. Me, I'm still a brigand at heart, but I'm held to goodness by the weight of public opinion and the fading strength of an age-weakened body.'

'I have changed,' said the Preacher. 'I abhor violence, and will never kill again.'

'Is that so, Jonnie? Answer me this then, where are your guns? In a pit somewhere, rusted and useless? Sold?' His eyes twinkled and he grinned. 'Or are they here? Hidden away somewhere, cleaned and oiled.'

'They are here,' admitted the Preacher. 'I keep them as a reminder of what once I was.'

'We'll see,' said Cade. 'I hope you are right, Jon. Such a life is good for you.'

Now the sun broke clear of the clouds above Babylon and Jon Shannow felt the weight of the pistols at his side. 'You were right,' Daniel,' he said softly. 'Men don't change.'

Gazing down on the garden he saw Amaziga, Gareth and Sam sitting together. The first Samuel Archer had been a man of peace, interested only in researching the ruins of Atlantis. He had been beaten to death in the caverns of Castlemine. In this world the black man was a fighter. In neither had he won.

Amaziga said there existed an infinity of universes. Perhaps in one of them Samuel Archer was still an archaeologist who would slowly, and with great dignity, grow old among his family. Perhaps in that world, or another, Jon Shannow did not see his family gunned down. He was a farmer maybe, or a teacher, his own sons playing around him, happy in the suns.h.i.+ne, a loving wife beside him.

A whisper of movement came from behind and Shannow hurled himself to the left as a bullet ricocheted from the balcony, screaming off into the air. Spinning as he fell, Shannow drew his right-hand pistol and fired. The h.e.l.lborn warrior staggered, then tipped over the balcony wall. Drawing his left-hand gun, Shannow rose and ran back to the hall entrance.

Two h.e.l.lborn warriors were crouching behind pillars. The first, shocked by his sudden appearance, fired too swiftly, the bullet slas.h.i.+ng past Shannow's face. His own left-handed gun boomed and the man was flung back. The second warrior reared up, a knife in his hand. Shannow's pistol slammed down, the barrel cracking home against the man's cheekbone, and the warrior fell heavily.

Shots sounded now from the garden. As Shannow ran through the hall, a rifleman leaned over the gallery rail above him. Shannow fired - but missed, the bullet chipping wood from the rail. He ducked into a corridor, turned left down a stairway and right into another corridor. Here he stopped and waited, listening for sounds of pursuit.

Footsteps sounded on the stairs and two men ran down. Stepping out, Shannow shot them both, then ran for the garden. Halting in a shadowed archway, he re-loaded his pistols.

There were no sounds now from the garden.

Guns in hand, he moved swiftly out into the suns.h.i.+ne, scanning the balconies.

No one was in sight.

Creeping silently through the undergrowth, he approached the circle of stone. The sound of voices came to him as he neared the circle.

The Lord has left us,' said a deep voice, 'and you are to blame. We were ordered to kill you and we failed. Now that we have you, he will come back for us.'

'He's not coming back,' Shannow heard Amaziga tell them. 'Can't you understand what has happened? He's not a G.o.d, he's a man - a corrupted, ruined man who feeds on life. Have you not seen the colosseum? He's killed everyone!'

'Silence, woman! What do you know? The Lord has returned to his home in the Valleys of h.e.l.l, and there he has taken our people to enjoy the rewards of service. This is what he promised. This is what he has done. But my comrades and I were left here because we failed him. When your bodies bleed upon the High Altar he will return for us, and we shall know the joy of everlasting death-life.'

Sam's strong, steady voice cut in. 'I understand that you need to believe. Yet I also see that the demonseeds embedded in your brows are black now and powerless. You are men again, with free will and intelligence. And deep down you are already questioning your beliefs. Is that not true?'

Shannow heard the sound of a vicious slap. 'You black b.a.s.t.a.r.d! Yes, it is true - and all part of the test we face because of you. We will not be seduced from the true path.'

Shannow edged to the right to a break in the undergrowth and stepped out on to the walkway some fifteen yards from the h.e.l.lborn group. There were five in all, and each of them held a weapon pointed at his three companions. The h.e.l.lborn leader was still speaking. 'Tonight we shall be in h.e.l.l, with servants and women, and fine food and drink.

Your souls will carry us there.'

'Why wait for tonight?' asked Shannow. The h.e.l.lborn swung to face him and Shannow's guns thundered. The h.e.l.lborn leader was hurled back, his face blown away; another man spun back, his shoulder shattered. Shannow stepped to his right and continued to fire.

Only one answering shot came his way; it pa.s.sed some feet to his left, smas.h.i.+ng into the stone head of a statue demon, shearing away a horn.

The last echoes faded away. Shannow c.o.c.ked his pistols and moved to join the trio.

Amaziga was kneeling beside Gareth. Blood was staining the olive-green s.h.i.+rt he wore as Shannow knelt beside him.

'Jesus wept, Shannow!' whispered the young man. 'You really are death on wheels.' Blood frothed at his lips and he choked and coughed. Amaziga pulled out her Sipstra.s.si Stone, but Gareth's head sagged back.

'No!' screamed Amaziga. 'Please G.o.d, no!'

'He's gone,' said Shannow. Amaziga reached out and stroked the dead boy's brow, then she turned her angry eyes upon the Jerusalem Man.

'Where were you when we needed you?' she stormed.

'Close by,' he said wearily, 'but not close enough.'

'May G.o.d curse you, Shannow!' she screamed, her hand las.h.i.+ng out across his face.

That's enough!' roared Sam, reaching down and hauling her away from him. 'It is not his fault. How could it be? And if not for him we would all be dead.' He glanced at Shannow.

'Are there more, do you think?'

There were two inside I did not kill.' He shrugged. There may be others.'

Sam took Amaziga by the shoulders. 'Listen to me, Ziga. We must leave. What will happen if we activate the Gateway early?'

'Nothing, save that it uses more Sipstra.s.si power. And I have little left.'

'Is there enough to get us back?'

She nodded. A shot ricocheted from the walkway and Sam ducked, dragging Amaziga down with him. Shannow returned the fire, his bullets clipping stone from a balcony.

'Let's go,' said Shannow calmly. Amaziga reached down to touch her son's face for the last time, then she stood and ran for the stone circle. Sam followed. Shannow backed after them, eyes scanning the balconies. A rifleman reared up; Shannow fired and the man ducked down.

Inside the circle Amaziga knelt behind one of the stones and engaged the computer. Shots peppered the ground around them. They're circling us,' said Shannow.

Violet light flickered around them . . .

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