Afterworld

by Lynnette Lounsbury

  Dom started to speak, but before he could muster the breath Eva’s hand was over his mouth. He tried to see what was going on out in the street they had just left. There was muffled noise, some yelling and running, but no specific words or sounds. Then there was silence. Eduardo’s stance became even more tense and Eva’s grip on his shirt became unbearable; he tried to twist her off without moving too much, but they held him completely still. He knew he was supposed to be scared, a throbbing muscle in Eduardo’s temple told him that. But he could feel Eva’s warm breath on his neck. She smelled alive, there was warmth and energy there that made it hard to concentrate.

  Then he saw something in the narrow gap between Eduardo’s body and the end of the alleyway. A tall man was walking slowly past, taller than any man he had ever seen. This man had a faint glow to his pale skin, his hair was almost white and hung as long as Eduardo’s. Behind him was an equally tall, heavily muscled black man. They were both dressed completely in white. The pale man passed out of his line of sight and he heard a clear voice. It was soft and gentle, but terrifyingly clear, as though it was beside his own ear.

  ‘There is no leaving, Rubric. You made a decision and you must honour it. You will run for me. If you fail you will be held. If you make it – I may hold you anyway, for trying to cheat me.’ Dom heard a wail of fear and then a sickening crunch. It was a sound he barely recognised, but felt he should know. The scream that followed a moment later reminded him. It was a bone breaking. He remembered the sound from the ski trip when a girl in his class had fallen down a small embankment right in front of him, breaking her femur cleanly. A crunch, a silent moment and then the scream. He took a sudden breath. It wasn’t loud, but Eva re-clamped her hand over his mouth. It was too late.

  The pale man appeared at the end of the alleyway in an instant and smiled, trying to see around Eduardo’s body to Dominic. He walked towards them, his bodyguard flanking him. As he got closer Dom could see just how huge he was. Not just tall, but everything about him was a few sizes larger than the biggest person he had ever seen and the faint glow on his skin was strange. Like an aura, maybe. It reached only a few inches from his skin and didn’t light the darkness at all, but it shimmered in a strange way, as though it was breathing.

  Eduardo stood waiting, his muscles taut. ‘Satarial.’

  The tall man did not even turn. He tilted his head gracefully and watched Dominic’s face.

  ‘Welcome.’ He seemed to look Dom up and down and yet maintain eye contact. He spoke with friendly affection. ‘You have a young face. African. Some Celt I think. Perhaps a little Hun?’ He leaned down a little and reached for Dom’s arm. Eduardo stepped in front of him. There was a very small flash of anger in Satarial’s eyes, vicious, but brief.

  ‘You’ll have to excuse these two, my friend. They are over-cautious. Very good at what they do, very good. But we have crossed paths before in unfortunate circumstances and they are not very forgiving. And you, what was your name?’ He spoke over Dom’s shoulder and he felt Eva hiss behind him in disgust.

  ‘I am Eva.’

  With one soft movement, Satarial pushed Eduardo aside. He exerted almost no effort, but Eduardo had to fight to regain his balance. He swung his knife between them but the pale man made no further move towards Dom. He simply held out his hand. Dom wasn’t sure whether he was supposed to shake it or hold it. It was a strange gesture, palm up. The man’s icy blue eyes were boring into him but there was an air of impatience or anticipation or something he couldn’t quite define. Satarial wanted something of him. He knew he shouldn’t do it, his Guide and Guardian made it abundantly clear that this was not a man they trusted. But he had another sinking remembrance that he was dead. That he could not die again. That it didn’t matter what he did anymore and in the only way he could, Dom rebelled and put his hand on Satarial’s larger, refined and smooth one.

  It was like dry ice. Freezing and burning at the same time. An intense pain that travelled throughout his arm and skull. He could barely hear the soft voice for the screaming nerves in his brain, but he saw without confusion the surprise and sudden interest on the man’s face.

  ‘You are fifteen?’ He pulled his hand away quickly. He repeated thoughtfully and quietly, almost excitedly. ‘Fifteen.’ He looked at his servant, whose face had remained completely impassive throughout the entire exchange and who had not even moved when Eduardo had swung his knife. Obviously there was no concern about his master’s wellbeing.

  Satarial leaned forward, ignoring the knife, and spoke close to Dom’s ear.

  ‘Who is the girl? The one that laughs? With the dark hair.’ He waited for Dom to answer, but Dom’s mind was still dull from the pain. The girl? What girl? He stared in confusion. Satarial stepped back quickly.

  ‘I have a place for you, Dominic. I’ve been waiting for someone . . . interesting, like you.’ He turned and walked down the alley, tossing over his shoulder, ‘Good evening, my friends.’

  He took his time gliding smoothly out of the alley, his feet touching the ground only in the lightest way possible. Dominic couldn’t help admiring him a little, despite the moaning of the injured man out on the road, and the pain when they touched. When he had completely vanished and the sound of his bodyguard’s footprints had faded, Eduardo finally relaxed and looked Dominic deeply in the face.

  ‘Are you all right?’ He lifted Dom’s face upwards and held it in his strong hand.

  ‘I’m fine.’ He shook his head free.

  ‘You shouldn’t be.’ Eduardo was still staring into his eyes.

  ‘Are you stupid?’ Eva let go of his shirt with a last jerk, causing him to cough. ‘Do you think we know nothing?’

  Dom was suddenly angry. He didn’t usually lose his cool, he didn’t believe he even had any cool, but Eva’s green eyes were trained on him with such disgust that he couldn’t help himself.

  ‘How should I know? I don’t know you any better than I knew him. And at least he was nice. Polite. I appreciate you trying to . . . rescue me, or whatever you think you are doing. But that guy didn’t try to hurt me. You didn’t have to choke me.’

  Eva leaned forward and it seemed as though she might yell at him, but Eduardo stepped in between, his muscular body forming a solid wall. He was facing Dom and seemed completely sober for a moment. ‘We apologise if we seemed over-cautious, Dominic, but that was one of the most dangerous beings in Necropolis and you are, well, as he said, you are . . .’ Eduardo paused for a second, ‘of interest to him.’

  Dom wasn’t even sure which question to ask first. ‘Being? What does that mean? He’s not human?’

  ‘Obviously not.’ Eva was still angry.

  Eduardo stepped away and sheathed his knife. ‘You know, Dom, I think she might have a little bit of love left in her heart. Deep down there somewhere. Some of it might even be for you. I’ve never seen her react like this.’

  Eva was startled into stuttering, ‘No. No. No.’

  Dom blushed, but smirked. Eduardo at least had the talent of shutting Eva up. Dom finally allowed himself to relax enough to follow Eduardo out of the alleyway and back onto the street. The man who had been attacked by Satarial’s bodyguard was no longer whimpering, just sitting patiently on the edge of the street, waiting. He glanced up at them with an expression of hopeless disinterest. His leg didn’t appear to be broken, but there was thick, red blood on the torn thigh of his pants.

  After they had passed by, Dom questioned Eduardo on it.

  ‘He is almost healed,’ the Guardian replied. ‘We still feel pain here, but we can’t truly be injured or permanently maimed. He is waiting for it to be completely healed and then he will be able to walk. Satarial would never actually incapacitate one of his competitors.’

  ‘Competitors? What does he do?’ Dom struggled to understand anything about this man. ‘Wait – first, tell me what he is or who he is.’

  ‘He’s Nephilim.’ Eva finally spoke. It seemed her interest in Satarial made it impossible for her to keep up the
silent treatment.

  ‘Nephilim? I’ve never heard of that. Is it a different race or something? Or a wizard?’ Dom thought vaguely of the fantasy novels his roommate had always been reading. ‘Are there other worlds of people here, too?’

  ‘No. Just Earth. But some people have been here a very long time. There are races of people that are long extinct on Earth.’ Eduardo spoke carefully, looking down each side street as they passed into a section of the City that was full of tight alleys and blind corners. The buildings were not as brightly lit here, less warmth in the walls, more smoky yellow light. There was the occasional body slumped against the edge of the street. Dom assumed since they were already dead, they were just drunk or overwhelmed. A few minutes ago he had felt like lying down exactly where he was and covering his head with his hands. Now, though, he was too interested in the conversation. He stepped over a fat middle-aged man in a business suit and kept talking.

  ‘How long ago are we talking? Like Ancient Egypt or China or before that?’

  ‘So far before that, you couldn’t even put them on the same timeline. Think – the very beginning.’

  ‘As in – out of the slime?’ Dom was incredulous.

  Eva sniffed. ‘Okay – you’re gonna have to let go of all that stuff you learned in science. Growing legs and crawling up on land? It’s rubbish.’

  Dom had never considered the alternative. ‘Really? So it was like Adam and Eve and all that? And the tree?’

  Eduardo smiled gently. ‘Well, you might have to let go of that too. The creation story that you know is so deeply mythical and simplified that it is unlikely you have gleaned any truth from it. Let’s just say people did not come from monkeys any more than they were built out of dirt. Both stories are allegories that humans have taken as literal truth.’

  ‘And Nephilim?’

  ‘Have you read any of the Bible?’ Eva asked him.

  ‘Not a lot. Some at school. My parents were atheists so we never had one at home.’

  ‘Well, it’s one of the only books that refers to Nephilim. There are also other old scrolls. Anyway, Nephilim are what was created when humans bred with Angels.’ She shot him a half-smile as she waited for his reaction.

  Dom almost tripped over his own feet, but not for the reason she thought. When she smiled Eva became so suddenly beautiful that his breath was taken away. He blushed and was thankful it was dark enough to hide it. Then his brain took over and he realised what she had said.

  ‘Angels?’ He actually grinned. ‘Like the ones with wings? Singing songs and watching over children?’

  Eduardo frowned. ‘Is that what you believe down there now? You’d better keep that to yourself.’ He glanced around a little furtively. ‘They do not come here often, but they are a very proud race. And more powerful than even the Nephilim. I wouldn’t insult them. I could not protect you from an angry Angel.’

  ‘An angry Angel?’ Dom smirked again. It was hard to parallel the thought with the types of pictures and statues he had seen around his Aunt Milly’s house. Millicent was a New Age addict and had been, across the years, a psychic, fortune-teller, chakra therapist and, more recently, Angel Intuitive. Last time he had been in Washington, she had told him that his Guardian Angel was very concerned about his sadness of spirit. She had pictures and carvings of fat baby angels with pouting lips all around her home.

  ‘Anyway, Satarial is the oldest being here. He is half-Angel and so has much of their size and strength, as well as a few of their powers – like reaching into your mind. But unlike them he was mortal. That’s why he’s here. There aren’t many Nephilim left. Most moved on immediately.’ She slowed down and Dom almost ran into her. She glanced at him in mild annoyance, took an ancient key from her satchel and inserted it in an equally anachronistic lock on a door close to the street. It was a narrow doorway and there were dozens of identical ones on this street. After she unlocked it, the door vanished the same way as the one in the bar had, and Eduardo ushered Dom through it, peering up and down the street as he did. If he had to stay here too long Dom thought he might become paranoid with all these furtive looks and worried glances. He climbed a narrow set of stairs; they were old and the stone was chipped and dull. The railing was missing in places and as he climbed there was a faint cracking sound as though he were walking on thin ice. Eva led the way to the fourth level of the narrow building, unlocked one of two un-numbered doors and opened it. The door vanished again, re-materialising behind them and leaving them alone together in a room about the size of his mother’s closet, perhaps smaller. Eva reached out and touched one of the walls and a light glow appeared in the room. It was a soft orange colour and it flickered on his Guide’s and Guardian’s faces like a campfire.

  Just about everything in the room felt like a camping trip; the beds were stretcher-style cots and there was only one table and chair. Both were made of heavy wood and Dom liked the feeling that there were a few things in this place that weren’t made of the cold stone. Eva placed her satchel against the wall, lay down on one of the beds and pulled a thick, rough blanket over herself. She turned her face to the wall and while he was absolutely sure she wasn’t immediately asleep, he had the feeling she would pretend to be anyway. Eduardo pulled off his knee-high boots and sat on the chair, put his feet up on the table and pulled a flask from within his tattered satchel.

  ‘Goodnight, Eva, such a pleasure to be working with you again. Always good conversation. A world of laughs.’ There was no response, but they both knew that she had heard and Dom and Eduardo shared a wry smile. Dom sat on the spare bed. It was just comfortable enough. The cover was a rough, but soft, brown fabric. The blanket felt the same only heavier. A bit like hemp. He ran his hand over it absentmindedly. Everything was similar to home, but different enough to make him feel constantly out of place.

  ‘So, Dominic.’ Eduardo took a long drink from his flask. It appeared to be bottomless. ‘Since we are to be together for a while, and I will be risking my body to protect you, tell me everything about yourself.’ He leaned back, slightly bored.

  Dom sighed. ‘Would you mind if we didn’t talk? I just want to sit. I don’t want to sleep, but I don’t want to talk either. Why do we need to sleep by the way?’

  ‘We don’t really. You won’t die from not sleeping.’ He chuckled and took another drink. ‘But you will feel very, very tired. We sleep so we have energy. Simple. So you are not going to tell me who you are? I’m very curious.’

  Dom smiled. Eduardo sounded anything but curious, more sarcastic.

  ‘Why don’t you tell me who you are? Since you’re supposed to be my Guardian, protecting me from giants and Angels and devils and who knows what else.’

  He waved a drunken hand. ‘Oh, there is no devil. Do you know that I have had this job for hundreds of years and none of my wards have ever asked me about myself? Maybe a question or two about my skills as a swordsman or my language, but never my past. You are the first. You are more different than I thought.’

  Dom couldn’t help himself. ‘Why does everyone speak English? Wouldn’t someone like Satarial speak his own language?’

  ‘He does. We just understand all the human languages here.’ He shrugged.

  ‘Then why do you speak with an accent?’ Dom asked dubiously.

  Eduardo roared with laughter. ‘Because you expect me to! Where are you from anyway? You are African?’

  ‘I’m American. My mum is white and my dad is black.’

  ‘Oh yes, American.’ Eduardo sniggered. ‘I’ve met a couple. Always so astonished that they are dead. How could this happen to me? What did I do to deserve this? Cry, cry.’ He leaned forward and pointed his finger at Dom. ‘Did you know that I was one of the first men to set foot in the Americas? We landed in a place that had never before been discovered, except by the savages. We found your country.’ He smiled.

  ‘I think that’s South America. And you’re not supposed to call them savages.’ Dom didn’t know why he bothered explaining, he was sure the Inc
as could defend themselves now they were dead.

  Eduardo wasn’t listening anyway. He was in some deep memory, his eyes narrowed and his brow furrowed. He pulled his braid of hair over his shoulder and held it in his hand. It was a thick rope, dark and shining, and Dom was once again amazed at how long it was. It was almost like the fairytale his mother used to tell Kaide whenever she had wanted to cut her hair short – Rapunzel.

  ‘We travelled for months. I didn’t even like the sea, everything was sticky, wet and rotten. And the rum ran out much earlier than we expected.’ He grinned wryly. ‘We were searching for gold, not land. My role was leading the army against the savages, subduing them and protecting the gold for the queen of Spain. We won our first confrontation, it was a massacre – thousands of them died. They had no swords, just spears and darts and knives. It was not a fair fight.’

  Dom watched his face. There was regret, but also a smile.

  ‘They defeated me in the end, despite my sword. Maybe it was fairer than I thought. I was hit by a dart – about the size of a needle. I saw the boy who fired it, maybe twelve, thirteen years old. It hit me in the shoulder and barely hurt. I pulled it out and kept fighting. By the end of the battle I couldn’t raise my arm, it was numb. Then it became harder and harder to breathe and eventually my heart stopped beating. And that was that. I died for a pile of gold. For someone else.’

  Dom couldn’t help himself. ‘There wasn’t any gold you know. It was a myth.’

  Eduardo laughed loudly, though a little harshly. Eva still didn’t stir. ‘So I’ve heard.’

  ‘So why haven’t you gone on to – wherever we’re supposed to be going to?’

  The smile left the older man’s face and he took another drink. ‘I have my reasons, Dominic. But I know how to protect and that is all that should matter to you. Even you.’

  ‘What do you mean “even me”? What’s different about me?’ Dom hoped it would be nothing. He didn’t want to stand out in this strange place. But the bemused face of his Guardian and his encounter with Satarial had already suggested that he was . . . special.