Part 107 (1/2)

Shannow holstered his pistols and strode out on to the hillside above Amaziga's Arizona home.

Shannow sat on the paddock fence for more than an hour, oblivious to the blazing suns.h.i.+ne. The desert here was peaceful upon the eye, the giant saguaros seemingly set in place by a master sculptor. His thoughts swung back to the rescue of Samuel Archer. So much death! The girl, Shammy, and all the other nameless heroes who had followed Sam.

And Gareth. Shannow had liked the young black man; he had a zest for life, and the courage to live it to the full. Even the sight of his twin's corpse had not kept him from his path - a path that led to a bullet fired by a h.e.l.lborn warrior who had seen the destruction of his race and not understood its meaning.

Amaziga's unjust anger was hard to take, but Shannow understood it. Every time they met it seemed that someone she loved had to die.

Sam strolled out. 'Come inside, my friend. You need to rest.'

'What I need is to go home,' Shannow told him.

'Let's talk,' said Sam, avoiding Shannow's gaze. The Jerusalem Man climbed down from the fence and followed the black man into the house. It was cool inside, and the face of Lucas shone from the computer screen. Amaziga was nowhere in sight. 'Sit down, Mr Shannow. Amaziga will be with us shortly.'

Unbuckling his guns, Shannow let the belt fall to the floor. He was mortally tired, his mind weary beyond words. 'Perhaps you should clean up first,' suggested Sam, 'and refresh yourself.' Shannow nodded, and leaving Sam he walked through the corridor to his own room and removed his clothes. Turning on the faucets he stepped under the shower, turning his face up to the cascading water. After some minutes he stepped out and moved to the bed where he sat down, intending to gather his thoughts, but fell asleep almost instantly.

When Sam woke him it was dark, the moon glinting through the clouds. Shannow sat up. 'I didn't realise how tired I was,' he said.

Sam sat down alongside him. 'I have spoken to Ziga. She is distraught, Shannow, but even so she knows that Gareth's death could not be laid at your door. She is a wonderful woman, you know, but headstrong. She always was incapable of being wrong - I think you know that, from past experience. But she is not malicious.'

'Why are you telling me this?'

Sam shrugged. 'I just wanted you to know.'

There is something else, Sam.'

That's for her to tell you. I brought some clean clothes. Amaziga will be in the lounge when you are ready.' Sam stood and left the room.

Rested and refreshed, Shannow rose and walked to the chair where Sam had laid the fresh clothes. There was a blue plaid s.h.i.+rt, a pair of heavy cotton trousers and a pair of black socks. The chest of the s.h.i.+rt was over-large, the sleeves too short, but the trousers fitted him well. Pulling on his boots, he walked out into the main room where Amaziga was sitting at the computer speaking to Lucas. Sam was nowhere in sight.

'He went for a walk,' said Amaziga, rising. Slowly she approached him. 'I am very sorry,'

she said, her eyes br.i.m.m.i.n.g with tears. Instinctively he opened his arms and she stepped into his embrace. 'I sacrificed Gareth for Sam,' she said. 'It was my fault.'

'He was a brave lad,' was all Shannow could think to say.

Amaziga nodded and drew away from him, brus.h.i.+ng her sleeve across her eyes. 'Yes, he was brave. He was everything I could have wished for. Are you hungry?'

'A little.'

'I'll prepare you some food.'

'If it is all the same to you, lady, I would like to go home.'

'Food first,' she said. 'I'll leave you with Lucas for a moment.'

When she had left the room Shannow sat down before the machine. 'What is happening?'

he asked. 'Sam out for a walk, Amaziga playing hostess. Something is wrong.'

'You came through the window earlier than antic.i.p.ated,' said Lucas. 'It drained her Stone.'

'She has others, surely?'

'No. Not at the moment.'

'Then how will she send me back?'

'She can't, Mr Shannow. I have the capacity to hack into . . . to enter the memory banks of other computers. I have done so, and in the next few days papers will begin to arrive giving you a new ident.i.ty in this world. I will also instruct you into the habits and laws of the United States. These are many and varied.'

'I cannot stay here.'

'Will it be so bad, Mr Shannow? Through my ... contacts, if you like ... I have ama.s.sed a large fortune for Amaziga. You will have access to those funds. And what is there left behind you? You have no family, and few friends. You could be happy in America.'

'Happy?' Shannow's eyes narrowed. 'Everything I love is lost to me, and you speak of happiness? d.a.m.n you, Lucas!'

'I fear I am already d.a.m.ned,' said the machine. 'Perhaps we all are for what we have done.'

'And what is that?' asked Shannow, his voice hardening. 'What is there that is still unsaid?'

Amaziga returned at that moment carrying two cups of coffee. 'I have some food in the oven. It will not take long,' she said. 'Has Lucas spoken to you?'

'He has. Now you tell me.'

Tell you what?'

'No games, lady. Just the truth.'

'I don't know what you mean. The power is gone. Until I find more Sipstra.s.si we are trapped in this version of the old world.'

'Tell him,' said Sam, from the doorway. 'You owe him that.'

'I owe him nothing!' stormed Amaziga. 'Don't you understand?'

'No, I don't understand, but I know how you feel, Ziga. Tell him.'

Amaziga moved to an armchair and sat, not looking at Shannow or Sam but staring down at the floor. 'The Bloodstone found a Gateway through to your world, Shannow. That's where he is now. It wasn't our fault. Truly it wasn't. Someone else opened a Gateway - Lucas will vouch for that.'

'Indeed I will,' said the machine. 'Amaziga transferred the files from the portable. I know everything that happened back in Babylon. Sarento pa.s.sed through the Gateway while we were in the hills, camping at that deserted town. All I can tell you is that the Bloodstone is in the time of the Deacon. Your time.'

Shannow slumped down in a chair. 'And I can't get back there, to Beth?'

'Not yet,' said Lucas.

The Jerusalem Man looked up at Amaziga,. 'What will I do here in the meantime, lady, in this world of machines? How will I live?'

Amaziga sighed. 'We have thought of that, Shannow. Lucas has arranged papers for you, under a new name. And you will stay here while we teach you the ways of this world. There are many wonders for you to see. There is Jerusalem. For this world is still twenty-one years from the Fall.'

'Twenty years, four months and eleven days,' said Lucas.