‘Have any of the other forces ever died? I mean besides Ashanti. Aze hinted that this was the third time that he had fought a Primal’
‘I don’t know.’ Panat answered. ‘I’ve never heard of it happening before. But keep in mind that our clan was only focussed on Primal. So, we didn’t really follow the others. There was no exchange of information between the clans.
‘We have to find out.’ I stated. We needed to know what— if anything— we could expect. Aze had mentioned that he was more than two thousand years old. According to earlier information that I received, the Watchers, and so their charges as well, had been around for much longer than that. That implied that there had been another Azazel before this one. And that he or she had died. What had the impact been then?
‘Where can we find out?’ I asked. Panat was lost in thought and to took a while for him to answer.
‘The clans’ he finally offered. ‘In the libraries. Each clan has its own collection of manuscripts and books. Some of them date from before Christ. Only problem is that we would need to visit all the clans, and call me paranoid, but I don’t think that we are going to be welcome.’
‘Why not?’
‘We’ve canned Joseph’s plans. He has a lot of influence with the clans and it’s not in his best interest that we find out more.’
‘No, I guess you’re right.’ We would have to ponder the solution to that another time.
What did Azazel tell you? I asked. I was curious to see if the stories were consistent.
Over the course of the next hour we caught up on what Azazel had told us each individually. He had been a fountain of information. Not unsurprising when you think that he had been around for so long. The stories were consistent. Not that it meant that they were true. Just the same.
Our main problem was figuring out what we should believe and what not. Azazel had been a master manipulator. Who was to say that he wasn’t still manipulating us? Even from the grave. The sheer magnitude of the information was another concern. It overwhelmed us. It was so much, and seemed so coherent that it was difficult to dismiss it as manipulation. My questions about the Watcher’s finances stemmed from before I met Azazel, from before he had shared his wisdom. His views had only strengthened my doubts about the legality of the obviously vast amounts of money that the Watchers seemed to have. Running their operation as they did was a costly venture. Keeping out of the limelight, was another pricey characteristic. In countries like Nepal and the rest of Bharat, this was achieved by massive bribes—more money that had to have come from somewhere.
The remarks about how Joseph had done away with all his competition rang a bell with Panat. One he didn’t really want to listen to, but that he could not ignore. Aakash’s death had always weighed heavily on Panat. There were inconsistencies.
Deciding what to believe and what not, was a massive undertaking.
‘It’s all a bit much to take in.’ Panat remarked after all the information had been shared. ‘It eats at the foundation of everything I have ever believed in about the clans. We were the good guys. And now… now I don’t know what to think anymore.’
I could see his anguish and I sympathised. Placing my hand over his I let him know that I was there for him. Our journey had brought us so unbelievably close to each other. And now our perceived alienation from the clans strengthened it.
‘Azazel has shaken my beliefs to their core. My whole life, I was certain of my goals, of my place in the universe and what I was born to do. But what if that’s all a lie? If everything that I hold sacred is just deception, a cunning fabrication of disinformation engineered to fill someone’s coffers? And where does that leave me? What does that make me?’
‘It doesn’t make you any less of a good man.’ I answered. ‘What Joseph or anyone else may have done, and the reasons why, do not blacken you or your soul. Everything you did, you did out of a sense of honour, of righteousness. Your reasons are pure.’
‘But what if the result was what Azazel said? What if I unwittingly aided in the sales of arms or maybe even drugs?’
‘Hold on to the “unwitting” part. That’s the most important thing for you to grasp. Whatever Joseph or anyone else has done, you have never been a willing partner in. You were deceived.’
He wanted to believe me, but it was so difficult.
‘Besides’ I continued. ‘We don’t even know if it’s true. This could be another of Aze’s manipulations. There is nothing I would put beyond him. He could have planned it all—to sow the seeds of doubt and dissent in our minds just in case something went wrong and we survived. He was a major strategist and manipulator. It’s not impossible that all this is just a scam.’
‘But how will we know?’
That had me stumped too. ‘No idea Panat. But we’ll figure it out on the way. One thing we do know is that we have each other. And that we can at least trust us. That’s a start.’ He nodded, holding on to my hands, finding comfort of a sort in his disintegrating world.
‘We know that at least some of the clan are compromised. Sarah to start with, so we can start there.’ I think that having a starting point helped. We would go from there, depending on what we found.
‘But first, let’s investigate this place, find out all we can and then find a way back to civilisation.’
We stood up, brushed off the dust and got down to business.
CHAPTER SEVENTY
There was a surprise waiting for us outside.
We had been in the building for no more than a few hours, but the whole scenery had changed. The bright flowers that supplied the hallucinogenic were wilting and fading. When I touched one, it disintegrated. The canopy had closed, the leaves all interlaced and blocked out the direct sun. Vines hung from the tall trees, over the buildings and had started to creep in through any cracks. Even the cistern walls were damaged by thick roots that had broken through the tiles. It looked as though a hundred years of growth had taken place in mere hours. The jungle was reclaiming the area.
I looked at Panat. He was just as surprised as I was. ‘I guess there was a reaction after all.’ He said, echoing my thoughts.
‘Yeah’ I answered, but is this a reaction to Azazel’s death or to the fact that I killed him?’
‘Good question.’ He pondered on that for a moment. ’One I have no answer to. This is all so weird. Nothing I have ever heard has prepared me for this. Or for what happened from the moment you walked into my life for that matter.’ He smiled, indicating that my presence was a good thing.
We could actually see the vines, roots and branches growing. They were advancing over the buildings that fast. In another twenty-four hours, there would be nothing left of this place. It would be buried for ever. Something told me that might be a good thing. Mother Nature was tidying up after us.
On the other hand, I was feeling a bit sad. This place had struck a chord with me. It felt like home in a very strange way. I had never been here before. But Primal had. And deep down inside the shared memories, I felt that this was my place of origin. I had no idea what I meant by that. But the feeling resonated so strongly that I was certain that it was true.
As we moved further through the small compound we saw that the transformation was everywhere. The Amazon was taking over. We hurried to find whatever we could salvage that might help us on our journey. We were in the middle of a thick and impenetrable jungle where there were no roads or airstrips. The only transportation out of here—the helicopter—left with Raphael and the others. It wouldn’t have done any good anyway, there was no way that a helicopter could get through the canopy anymore.
I was ok. As the cat, I could traverse the jungle easily. But Panat couldn’t, and I wasn’t about to leave him alone here. We decided to go back to the river. There was little chance that the boat would be there. The agreed time had passed and in this place people didn’t hang around. The river would however eventually lead us to an inhabited area.
From there we would see how to proceed. We would not c
ontact the Watchers. That was certain. Not until we knew who could be trusted. We would stay off the grid. There was no detailed plan. Only the need to find out what was really going on.
Me, I had some new things to work out. The power that I had experienced here was mind-blowing. I had to process that. I had no idea how, but just the thought of balancing that power was frightening to me. It was ok as long as I was in control. But what If I couldn’t handle it? What if I lost control? That kind of power could do an enormous amount of damage.
And then there was Aze. Meeting someone like myself had been a monumental experience. And then I had killed him. The impact of what I had done was massive. I alternated between anger and deep depression about what I had done. The only person I knew who really had the experience to understand me was dead, and I was to blame. No matter that he was a megalomaniac who would have plunged the world into chaos and destruction just to keep him amused. No matter that I had no choice. I had still done it and I had to come to terms with that.
But that would have to wait.
Now, we had to get out of here.
CHAPTER SEVENTY-ONE
Jack was so happy to see me that he broke down in tears. I joined him. We hugged for what seemed like ages. Panat just stood there with a big smile on his face. He always enjoyed it when I was happy. And this was happy.
Jack looked good. A lot better than when I left for Bharat. His cancer was under control and he was in remission. Barkley had kept his side of the bargain and organised outstanding medical care. After a really bad time in chemo, Jack had quickly recovered and was looking even better than in Easy.
He was curious about what I had been doing in the fourteen months that had passed. And what I had found out. On the way here I had told Panat that there would be no secrets where Jack was concerned. He was my friend. He knew all there was to know about me. Panat actually thought it would be a good idea to have another opinion about the situation we were in now.
So here we were. Catching up, laughing and crying. And it felt good.
Panat and Jack hit it off straight away. So well actually, that I felt redundant for a moment. But they both noticed and pulled me back into the fold.
On a more serious note, Jack listened closely to our story. He was excited that I knew more about my origin, but then very sad when I told him about Azazel. As usual he knew exactly what to say.
‘Just because he was corrupted doesn’t mean that it’s your destiny Jess.’ He continued to call me Jess. I didn’t mind, I have had so many names that it doesn’t matter what I’m called. Besides it was a throwback to the time we had experienced together. And those were memories that I cherished. Jack had helped me so much in accepting what and who I was.
‘Besides, you determine your own destiny Jess. You make your own decisions.’ Panat nodded his agreement. ‘Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Not the Watchers and not even Mother Nature. You are your own person.’
‘Thanks Jack’ I felt good. Glad that we had chanced the trip to Australia to catch up with Jack. I hadn’t even known whether he was still alive.
‘So, what now?’ He asked.
Panat and I looked at each other.
‘We’re not sure how, Panat said ‘but we need to find out what the truth is about the Watchers. I’ve lived a lie all my life. Anadi, uh Jess, thought that she had finally found her explanation, but instead we are confronted with more questions than ever.’
‘We need answers’ I added. ‘I’m done with the manipulation and all the lying. I want to know once and for all what I am.’
‘You’re a wonderful person I am lucky enough to call my friend.’ Jack replied. Expertly circumventing the “human” that was usually in a sentence like that.
I laughed. He still had that effect on me. ‘What Are you going to do now?’ I asked him.
’Settle down.’ He surprised me by blushing. I cocked my head as a question.
‘I’ve met someone’ he said sheepishly. ‘A nurse in the hospital where I was for the chemo. She was there for me, and we have a connection. Not like with you, that will never happen again. But close. Very close.’
I smiled. It was good that Jack had found someone. ‘I’m so happy for you.’ I said. He nodded.
‘She’s great.’ He looked down at his hands. ‘We’re even getting married.’ He continued. ‘And then, who knows?’
He looked so happy. It was contagious. We talked for a long time and made plans to keep in touch.
‘There’s one more visit I have to make.’ I told Jack with a smile.
‘Ahhh.’ He laughed. ‘Well, he will definitely not enjoy seeing you again. You know where to find him?’
‘Yes, I do. I’ve decided to visit him at home.’ That raised his eyebrow.
‘At home? How did you get the address?’
‘Let’s just say that someone with connections owed me a favour.’
‘Say hallo from me.’
We hugged again, said our goodbyes and left. Both of us knowing that we may never see each other again, but that our life was better for having friends like this.
CHAPTER SEVENTY-TWO
My one last piece of unfinished business here:
Barkley Smith.
He didn’t even seem surprised when I called him.
‘I have a new job for you’ he said, holding the phone to his right ear.
‘No.’ My answer was simple.
‘You do what we tell you to’ he continued.
‘I don’t work for you.’
He laughed. I guess that’s easy when the conversation is by phone. The perceived distance offering safety.
‘You really think that?’ he maintained. ‘You really honestly think that you have anything to say in the matter? We own you. You are ours, property of the British government.’
‘You don’t own me Barkley. I’m not your puppet.’
‘Do I really have to spell it out for you? What do you think will happen to Jack if you don’t comply?’ That irritating laugh again. It was time to end the games.
‘How about we continue this discussion face to face Barkley?’ I offered.
‘No way.’
‘Put the phone down.’ My voice wasn’t coming from the phone any more. It came from directly behind him in the room. ‘Turn around.’ I could see the shock registering in his very stance. His greatest nightmare had just come true. I was here, and we were alone. Slowly, excruciatingly slowly, he dropped the hand holding the phone to his side. He was shaking. Understanding hit him like a brick wall. Minute step for minute step, he turned to face me.
He looked even paler than the previous times I had surprised him. I suppose that was to be expected. This time I’d invaded his home. His sanctuary. The one place he felt safe. Safe from me.
To be fair, I had warned him.
‘How?’ Was all he could stammer.
‘I have friends in low places.’ I answered. ‘You really have no idea what I am capable of. Though I must admit that you have some state-of-the-art security systems in place here. They just don’t work on me.’
‘How?’ He repeated frantically. Unable to get his head around what was happening.
‘Now that would be telling.’ It was my turn to laugh. ‘And who knows when I might need to visit you again.’
He looked as though he would collapse any moment.
I moved closer to him. He stepped back, as far as he could, ending up with his back to the wall.
He dropped the phone. It was of no use. Who was he going to phone? Who could go up against me?
‘About Jack’ I continued. ‘How about we turn that around.’
He shrank almost.
‘If anything happens to Jack’ the menace dripped off my softly spoken words. ‘If he as much as slips in the street, I will come after you.’ I let that sink in. ‘I will kill you.’ We were inches apart. There was nowhere he could run to.
‘I will find you wherever you are, will get inside any building you hide in. And I will kill you. Y
ou will suffer’ He was crying by now. ‘You will finally find out exactly what I am capable of. And how that feels.’
He found his voice again, maybe out of panic, or resolution, or just insanity. He tried desperately to find some remnant of self-respect.
‘Are you threatening me?’ What was he? An idiot? Of course I was.
I stood back. Looking at him. A smile on my lips.
‘Think of it more as a promise, a guaranteed outcome.’
He dropped to the floor. All semblance of control gone.
I guess I’d made my point.
I don’t work for anyone.
Not for the Watchers.
Not for the British.
And definitely not for Barkley.
CHAPTER SEVENTY-THREE
Now all we had to do was find out the truth about the Watchers.
And somewhere out there, was a new Azazel.
<<<<>>>>
I hope you liked The Beast Inside. Would you please take a minute to leave a review on your favourite e-book site.
Thank you
Monique
The Primal Series.
Warmonger is available through my website.
www.moniquesingleton.com
I still have many more books coming.
The next book in the Primal Series does not have a title yet. But here’s a preview of the book. It continues where this book ended and follows Anida and Panat in their search for the truth.
Happy reading
Preview Inside… …. (title not yet definite)
The Beast Inside Page 26
