The Requiem Collection: The Book of Jubilees, More Anger Than Sorrow & Calling Babel

by Eric Black

  CHAPTER FORTY EIGHT

  “What do you mean they destroyed the palace?” the Keeper demanded.

  “They set a fire.” the commander answered. “Half of the building burned before we could get the blaze under control. The entire structure is on the verge of collapse.”

  “How did they manage that?”

  “I’m not sure. I do not know how they entered the palace without our knowing.”

  “It is now your primary job to find out.” The Keeper was furious – partly because of anger but deeper due to the fear that now crept in. The Chokka was growing bolder and he was proving very dangerous. If they could assault the Eastern Palace undetected, they could come to the Northern Palace. He was well protected but he couldn’t defend against a fire that could be created at will.

  He dismissed the commander and with the echo of the door latching shut, he leaned his head against the back of the chair. The Northern Palace was lost. And the girl was gone. “How did they do it?”

  It was a bit premature for the girl to be released but he had nearly finished with her and had not doubt she would be able to serve her purpose. He had given her ajándék at the caves but had not had the time to guide that gift into functioning for his greater purpose. With her latest internment, she was now ready to serve his intentions of reconnoitering the new Chokka. He would have liked more time to push that mission deeper into her mind but he had not doubt she would perform admirably given the level that she had already been coerced.

  He spent some time considering all that had happened. A knock on the door called him back from contemplation. The entrance of the Cancellarrii followed the knock. The Keeper smiled. “Good to see you up and about.”

  “It feels good to be out the bed. Now, what about this attack on the North Palace?”

  “I have one of your commanders investigating. I’m not sure how they entered without detection.”

  “And why was that command not run through me?”

  “You would have been briefed later today as our agreement dictates. Whether the command came from you or me is irrelevant.”

  The Cancellarrii was agitated but was showing patience. “It’s bad enough that my men are out on patrol while I lay around in bed. Now, they do not hear the commands come from me. Respect is a fine line. When they don’t see me, they don’t fear me. When they don’t fear me, their judgment of me turns to pity.”

  The Keeper understood the Cancellarrii very well. He, in fact, faced a similar existence. “You have my apologies, you are right.” The Keeper narrowed his eyes. “And now that you have earned such a rare honor, what do you plan to do with this opportunity?”

  “I plan to lead my men to capture this missing Chokka. Time in bed has afforded me time to think. And I think we have not done enough of that. We have marched in and allowed this man to come back and take us for fools. It is time we quit doing that.”

  “And what do you propose?”

  “The woman is ready is she not?” the Cancellarrii asked, referring to Triana.

  “She was taken from us but yes, she was prepared and we can track her thoughts, as well as the thoughts of others through her. Ajándék is a wonderful gift and it is even better when we control it.”

  The Cancellarrii’s mask was not in place and he revealved straight white teeth in the formation of a smile. “Does she suspect why we chose her in the first place?”

  “I do not think she does. I would imaging she amounts it all to bad luck.”

  “Good. I guess it’s not all bad that they took her. Aside from a destroyed palace, it solved the problem of getting her reconnected to the Chokka. Now that we have her in position we can know where they will be. Plus,” the Cancellarrii’s smile returned as his thought formulated, “I was thinking we might try something more. I know our program does not call for mind control but can we use our device to interject specific thoughts into her mind?”

  “We have only tested that on prisoners, which worked to some success, but it is theoretically possible.”

  “That’s what I wanted to hear. As I mentioned, it is time to out-think them. What better way to do that than to do the thinking for them?”

  The Keeper nodded. “I’m impressed. You should get injured more often.”

  “I’ll pass.”

  “I don’t blame you. I’ll follow up with the girl’s programmer. You get your men ready.”

  The Cancellarrii nodded and turned to go. “One more thing.” the Keeper said stopping him. “I’m beyond capturing the Chokka. Now I just want you to kill him”

  CHAPTER FORTY NINE

  Jims said goodbye to Krista and they were on their way. “Well that went smoothly.” Jims said after they had begun walking.

  “What do you mean?” Babel asked.

  “I mean she could have at least acted like it was difficult to let me go. She does know that we’re headed to the Erőd, the one place in the world that if we want to avoid the Klopph, we shouldn’t go.”

  Quentin nodded in agreement. “Triana wasn’t happy about staying either. But she’s been through too much. She needs to stay here and rest.”

  Babel walked silently beside them and did not enter the conversation. Quentin took notice. “What is it? You don’t agree with my decision to leave Triana behind?”

  “No, I agree she had been through a lot. But she knows much about the Keeper and the Klopph and we could have used someone with that information with us.”

  “Normally I would agree with you Babel but she’s been through too much. And I don’t just mean her time in the palace. I’m talking about what she saw when she was captive with my family. No one should have to experience that much death. Her place is with the women of our village. She’s not a soldier.”

  Babel let it drop but a single thought entered his mind: You should tell her that.

  They walked the duration of the day before making a cold camp. When night had fallen and the camp had grown still except for the men on watch, Quentin approached Babel and sat down in the dirt next to him. Babel had closed his eyes and started to drift warily when he heard Quentin’s voice. “I think my children are alive.”

  Babel did not open his eyes as he answered. “I know.”

  There was genuine surprise in Quentin’s voice. “You do?”

  “Sure, why else do you think we are going to the Erőd?”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Quentin, you accepted me when I first arrived without question. You have been by my side even though most people would have run when they found out their life was in danger. You have every right to hate me for the death of your family. But yet you are standing here with me. If there is any chance that your children are alive, I want to be there for you just like you are here for me.”

  There was silence for a few moments before Quentin answered. “Thank you Babel. I’m glad you came to my house that day.”

  “I am as well. I wish everything had turned out better but it hasn’t. Now, all we can do is continue to move forward.”

  “Babel…” Quentin started to say.

  “You’re welcome.” Babel answered. “Now get some sleep. That’s an order from your Császár.”

  Quentin grunted and relented, disappearing into the darkness when the small plot of land he had claimed for the evening awaited. When he was gone, Babel turned his eyes to the sky and stared at the stars. The night was clear. He wished at that moment that he had paid more attention in his astronomy class in college (he picked it as an elective because the girl in the line in front of him with the very low cut shirt picked the class). He was curious as to the stars and how they differed centuries in the future.

  Elsewhere, under the same sky, the people of the village slept in an uneasy comfort, worried about the men who now marched to the city. No one in the village saw Triana step away into the night.

  CHAPTER FIFTY

  “This doesn’t seem right.” Quentin said.

  “You think?” Jims replied sarcastically. “It’s
almost like they are withdrawing their entire force from the Outerlands. There should be Klopph all over the place.”

  “What do you think that means?” Babel asked. He glanced back at the vacated village that was receding in the distance. They had come upon the desolate setting just after the sun came up.

  “I’m not sure.” Quentin answered. “I have never heard of an entire Klopph division being called from the Outerlands back to Orleans. Of course, the fact that we destroyed the palace could have changed that.”

  Babel felt a twinge of sadness at the mention of his family’s palace – one that had been a place of respite for generations. Half of the palace had been consumed by fire and the remainder was on the verge of collapse.

  “Where are they going to house the extra troops?” Quentin asked, drawing Babel back from contemplation.

  “They will displace people in the city.” Jims answered.

  “Won’t the people rebel against that?”

  “The people in the city are afraid of the Klopph. They are reminded daily of the range of their malice. They won’t do anything to risk their families.”

  “So,” said Babel, “we’ll just have to do something to make sure the Klopph are not around to fear.”

  “We’ll get our chance soon enough.” Quentin replied. “We’ll be inside of city limits in a few days.”

  They walked unmolested and in the early afternoon of their fifth day since parting from the people of their village, just as Quentin had said they began seeing small buildings and the road turned from dirt to broken concrete. As they continued, shacks became reinforced buildings and areas of commerce became commonplace. They crested a hill and saw what had once been the downtown area of New Orleans, its skeletal buildings climbing out of the horizon.

  They smelled the smoke two blocks later.

  The smoke thickened in the air as they neared the Garden Quarter. It began to fill their lungs and sear their eyes. They reached an intersection and the chaos unfolded as they turned the corner.

  They looked on as people marched in the street. Several of the buildings were consumed in flame. Buildings not taken by the blazes displayed ruined windows. Citizens heaved bricks into the windows of vehicles.

  “What is this?” Babel asked, shocked. The Klopph ruled by an iron fist and complete order was the standard. Criminals were dealt with swiftly and rarely lived to commit a second crime. What they saw before them was completely out of character.

  “I’m not sure.” Quentin answered. “Where are the Klopph? There’s no way this should be happening.”

  “So where are they?”

  “I have no idea. If they were recalled to the city, there should be no shortage of Klopph.”

  Babel looked ahead. “We have to go through that.”

  “Yes, we do.” Jims said. “But don’t worry. If anyone comes near us, I’ll crush their skull.”

  “How far to the Erőd?” Babel asked.

  “We’re entering from the west side of the city,” Quentin answered, “and the city is longer east to west than it is north to south. We still have a few miles to get to the Elder Quarter.”

  “A few miles of this?” Jims commented.

  Quentin’s mention of the Elder Quarter took Babel’s thoughts to Triana. He recalled how he felt when they found her in the palace – obviously tortured but alive. He realized then that he loved her. But after all she had been through, was she capable of returning that love?

  A shout brought him back and he saw Jims approaching a set of four teenage boys. They had obviously said something for which Jims did not care and as he neared them, their nerve broke and they scattered to the recesses of a narrow alley. Jims was smarter than to follow. “Maggots.” he grunted as raged back to the Quentin and Babel.

  Quentin looked over at Babel. “And you were worried that the three of us wouldn’t be enough to handle the business here.”

  “The only thing worse than maggots is where they make their home.” Jims said with a wink.

  “So what do you think,” Babel inquired. “Do we press on or do we find somewhere to lay low and assess what we are facing?”

  “I’ve never seen anything quite like this.” Quentin commented.

  Jims nodded in agreement. “I can’t say I have either. But then again, I’m just a Yooper from the Outerlands.”

  “Yooper? I thought that was someone from Michigan?”

  “Michigan?”

  “Nevermind. Anyways, do we hold here or press on?”

  “We don’t really know what is going here.” answered Jims. “It would be the smart thing to lay low and access what we’re facing.”

  All agreed, the found one of the ransacked buildings empty. They scouted the rooms on both floors and determined they were the same. Jims set up a perimeter of alarms (junk lying about that was piled such to be easily toppled and loud) and they settled into a room with multiple escape routes. Quentin took the first watch while Jims and Babel settled in for another night of cheerless cold.

  CHAPTER FIFTY ONE

  They navigated the streets easily enough and found themselves mostly unscathed. They had faced some freeloaders who assumed three men would be easy targets; with only a few bruises to show for the altercation himself, Jims made sure the freeloaders did not share that same fate. He made good on his promise to dent heads. Babel stepped over the unconscious and bleeding men to continue his path to the Erőd.

  “Piece of cake.” Jims said after they had moved on.

  They traveled the next mile in peace. The day would have been serene had it not been for the broken glass belched onto the street from store fronts and the bouquet of burning rubber that incensed their noses. The Klopph remained unseen.

  The anxiety grew as they walked. Their intentions were to slip into the city among the crowded streets, avoiding the Klopph in route to the Erőd where they would carry out their plot. The scheme called for Babel to present himself to the Klopph once Jims and Quentin were in place. He would allow himself to be taken inside of the Erőd, then once there, he would torch the place and everyone in it. Now, with the missing Klopph, the plan didn’t seem as forthright. Of course, Babel could always just walk through the front doors of the Erőd and begin setting the fortress on blaze, Klopph or not but he was hoping to be near the Keeper when he began.

  When the finally reached the structure, the absence of the Klopp filled an already uncomfortable air. Babel was faced with a choice. He could carry out the conceived plan or they could develop an alternate method of engaging the Keeper. After a brief discussion, Babel made the call. “You stay here. After the fires start, I’ll come running. I can control the fire from the outside. If the Klopph are in there, I’ll take care of them.” Babel turned his attention to Quentin. “Don’t worry, the fire won’t reach the underground levels. Once the building is clear, we’ll all go in.”

  Jims and Quentin nodded. Both of them felt helpless standing there, watching Babel walk into the Erőd, but they had deliberated the scenarios. Each ended in the same result: there was little they could do but wait. If they were captured, they could not escape as Babel could do and it would only make Babel’s job more difficult when he had to add in rescuing them.

  Babel and entered and the echo of his footsteps portrayed vacancy. He walked through the entire building just to make sure and found the fortress was abandoned. The entire Klopph force had vanished. It was of little importance for what he had set out to do. He started with the top floor and soon the building was engulfed with inferno and dense, black smoke.

  Quentin and Jims watched as the windows of the building exploded, flames licking the space around the structure. The held their breath until Babel calmly exited the alley next to the Erőd. “They are gone.”

  “What do you mean gone?”

  “The building was empty. But their weapons are gone and the garage complex is also empty. Wherever they went, they took everything with them.”

  “Where did they go?”

  “I’m n
ot sure. It’s like they’ve abandoned the city. Perhaps they are scouring the Outerlands.”

  “We would have seen signs of them.” Jims noted.

  “Not to mention the escalated crime that has resulted from their absence.” Quentin agreed. “Why would they risk anarchy throughout the city just to find us?”

  “It’s like they disappeared.” Jims said.

  “Maybe they did.” Babel whispered to himself. Jims’ words birthed a thought. He recalled something on which Quentin had spoken.

  “What do mean?” Quentin asked.

  “The Bejárat.”

  “What are you suggesting? Are you saying they used the portal?”

  “Where else are they? Why would the entire Klopph force not be here?”

  “How would they be able to use the portal?” Jims questioned. “The only way they can operate the Bejárat is by using the energy of the Chokka.”

  “They have learned to create the energy. Do you not recall how they opened the doorways to the Chokka fortress?”

  “But if they went through the portal…”

  “They would enter my world.” Babel completed Jims’ thought. “And they have taken every weapon at their disposal with them.”

  “That’s crazy. Why would they go there? Why would they just abandon this world?”

  “Think about it.” Babel said. “If they withdrew from this world, there would be world-wide anarchy. We’ve already witnessed the beginnings of that. We do not have the manpower to stop anarchy, so there is no way we can reestablish our government in their absence. We need time to build a rebellion among the people, to get them to believe in what we are doing. We can’t organize this quickly and they know that. The result of them leaving is a world that we can’t control so there is no fear of us taking power.”

  “And they can always come back and reestablish control.” Jims agreed. He regarded Babel earnestly. “It seems the Keeper has left you a choice. We can reclaim the city and attempt to reinstate your government among a riotous people, which at any moment they can come back and disrupt; or you can travel back to you old world and try to stop them there, leaving the world here to continue to decay under the rule of no one.”