Water went up his nose and he sat up, coughing, which helped to clear his mind. The wind-driven rain slanted in densely, making it impossible to see beyond twenty paces. He was in a growing puddle beside the street, and a goodly distance from the sycamore, which he could barely see through the down pour.
How long had he been out?
The time could not be readily determined, due to the dark mass of clouds stretching from horizon to horizon, so he dismissed the duration of his unconsciousness as being unimportant.
He glanced down at the amulet and winced, sensing no active Aaka within, although could see where the figurine burned through the silk and seared his flesh nearly to the bone. He drew in a ragged breath, doing his best to ignore the pain.
The energy-field clearly kept him from dying, but the lightning strike proved to be more powerful than the potential in the Melody. If the bolt had been any stronger, Jubal had no doubt he would be lying dead with a cooked heart and charred lungs. “If that hit was meant to give me a humbler attitude, it work,” he spoke the words in a prayerful and reverent tone, and then stood up.
The figurine rubbed against the burnt and exposed tissues, making him think of the Aaka, Freezing the Flame. He allowed the notes to flow through his soul, summoning the potential from his inward pool. Life-force energy burst forth, filling his being with the false notion of omnipotence, and in a few moments scorched flesh became unblemished skin and the pain only existed in memory.
In quick succession he performed Metamorphosis to reestablish the Elusion persona, locking it into the amulet, and then mentally played the Aakas, Mending the Rip and Laundering, to return his silks to pristine condition.
From that point on he walked slowly and carefully up the street while saying, “Creator willing, nothing is going to stop me from getting those people to their new home tonight,” and did so until reaching his doorstep.
Andromeda blocked his path with her steel-tipped spear. “I have made it a point to know every Anakim currently serving as a Weapocarn and you, stranger, are not one of them.”
In spite of all he had recently experienced, Jubal smiled. “I am glad to know at least one of my guards can recognize an imposter,” he spoke in his true voice.
Her left eyebrow arched up. “You sound like the Instructor,” she replied, yet clearly had not been fully convinced, and so did not move the shaft or allow him to pass in out of the rain.
Not wanting to reveal himself in the open, he chose another way to convince her. “This is a persona created by the amulet I am wearing. Look closer and you will see the raindrops are not soaking the woolens even though water is dripping off of me.”
She relaxed the spear enough for him to step under the shelter, but drew her knife, fully prepared to strike if his words proved to be untrue. “Come forward and I will lay my spear aside but know I can shove this steel blade into your body faster than you can blink. Do not even think of bringing your hands anywhere near those hilts.”
Jubal nodded and stepped forward, hoping he would not have to discover the hard way if the energy field was thick enough to stop a knife thrust. Andromeda reached out, touching his coat and then the tension drained from her face. “Whatever that material is, it is not wool or any other fabric; it isn’t even slightly damp. I now know you are an Aakacarn, but how can I be sure you are the Instructor?”
She was playing with him, he knew it, but decided to answer audibly rather than demonstrate by focusing a Melody at her. “For one thing, Nimrod is the only other Aaka-wielder who has mastered Metamorphosis to this level, and I doubt even he has ever thought to form the image of another man. Now, you can ask me one question only the Instructor would know the answer to.” And if she continued to play he was fully prepared to resort to Melody-wielding.
She smiled. “Where did Jubal tell me to meet him?”
“In my workroom right after dark, but that, Andie, is if you and Orion have come to a decision,” he replied, using the name only used by those closely associated with her.
The knife shot back into the sheath and she stepped aside while observing the weather. “Do you still intend to do as promised?”
She wisely asked the question in such a way that only a person who had heard the earlier conversation with the priest would even know what she was talking about. “I do,” Jubal responded quickly with the same level of prudence.
They went on indoors, he ceased power to the amulet, and the Weapocarn persona vanished. She escorted him through the hall, up the stairs, and to the room guarded by Genermonies. The white-bearded hunter opened the door without saying a word. At the bench inside the workroom sat Vashti, Orion, Anak, Cassi, Natura, and Hermes.
“Victoria is watching the children,” Vashti informed him. “Cassiopeia informed me of what the priest told you and your response and so I summoned these others. Has the weather changed your mind about tonight?”
Jubal gave a nod of greetings to each of the attendees and then turned to his wife. “I am pleased my sister informed you, her forethought has saved time,” he stated, nodded again to Cassi, and then eyed everyone in the room. “The storm will make traveling inconvenient and yet will also serve as cover. Rain or no rain, we go tonight.”
No one’s eyes widened, not a brow twitched, and it was clear none of them were surprised at his intent. Natura, whose elbow had been resting on the table, leaned slightly forward, and motioned toward the door with the same arm. “We figured as much and that is why Bast and Ursa have gone out to gather the families.”
His team was so good they did not really need him to tell them what to do, only when to do it. “Excellent, that will also save time. Hermes, I need you to go have a chat with Thanatos. He will be seeing Betsenadab tonight. Tell him the grab will be tomorrow morning and to inform the inmate what is to happen,” Jubal ordered and then went on to explain the extraction in detail and then showed everyone the scroll made by Thanatos.
Hermes whistled his appreciation of the plan. “You can be devious when you want to be, but are leaving yourself little time to rest in the morning after working all night at helping us get the families away. My part in the plan is easy enough and I will be ready,” He replied, and headed out the door.
Orion cleared his throat, no doubt to draw attention. “My experience tells me this storm will not last long into the evening, which is only two hours from now, so it is best not to count on it for cover. How are you going to get these people out of the city unseen and to the trail?”
Jubal opened his mouth, but it was Vashti who spoke up. “He meant the storm will provide cover so Bast and Ursa can get the families to this house without being observed. If the foul weather continues in the evening, it will be a bonus,” she answered correctly and he nodded, affirming her words.
“I know the way he will get them out of the city but not exactly how,” Natura volunteered what she understood.
Rather than stand around talking, Jubal had a better use for the time to be spent waiting for the families to arrive. “I will show you how after we have dinner. There might not be another opportunity to eat before sometime late tomorrow.”
Anak rubbed his tummy. “That is an excellent suggestion,” he agreed without hesitation. “Let us seize the opportunity.”
They ate a fine dinner prepared by Shef. Victoria had brought the girls and finished her desert, unfortunately leaving her tongue something to do other than taste fig pudding. “Brother, I like that Weapocarn figurine you are wearing, but shouldn’t you put on something practical like the hawk?”
She was still fishing for answers, trying to figure out the secret being kept from her and if it related to flying. Short of sealing her in the guestroom and using Lock Joints on her, he could think of no way to keep her from seeing three families come into the house, not and keep his snoopy sibling from becoming even more suspicious.
Vashti touched his hand. “The time to decide has come and it is up to you.”
“What is up to him?” Vicky demanded.
<
br /> Jubal made up his mind and if she decided against him, he fully intended to fly her back to the original settlement; it would not take long in hawk-form. “First, Anak, would you take the children where they can play for a while?”
The intellectual put down his fork, glanced at his wife, who nodded, and then stood up. “I shall,” he stated and then went over and picked up the twins, one in each arm, and then turned to their sister. “Come, Laara, we have much more interesting and entertaining things to do than to sit and talk, which is all they want to do.”
Laara followed him out of the room and Jubal faced his little sister, her being only eight feet tall. “Since not everyone here knows this, I will start by announcing I have mastered flight,” he said and then held up his hand for silence when she opened her mouth, “and will teach the skill to everyone who joins in the task laid upon me by the priest,” he finished, adding the inducement.
“I want to fly,” Natura was quick to officially enroll as a student of flight.
“What task?” Victoria inquired, evidently more curious about that than the other revelation.
Jubal gave a nod to Vashti and she explained the whole thing while he nodded to emphasize each of her points. When she finished, he asked, “Are you with us or Nimrod?”
Vicky leaned back in her chair while staring him in the eyes as if looking for something only she could see. The young Nephilim glanced at Cassiopeia and then nodded. “I know you would never go against Nimrod unless you truly believe it is the right thing to do. I respect the priest and obviously Cassi agrees with you or she would be trying to talk you out of it. I will help but it will cost you that winged-panther and lessons on how to fly.”
“The figurine and lessons shall be yours,” Jubal agreed, relieved his little sister had chosen not to be a hindrance. He eyed the others at the table. “The rest of you will receive instruction as well and yes, Natura, Pan will be able to soar like a raven. You can have the owl amulet you admired and fly with him.”
“None of us will be able to fly,” Orion spoke for the Anakim in the room.
“What can we do to help?” Andromeda asked and her eyes focused briefly on the figurine. “Will you be going out as a Weapocarn? If you do, we can go on patrol with you.”
Her question brought everyone’s attention to the Aakatool, which led him to explain what the producer could do. He took it off and handed it to Vashti. “Here, put this on and will energy to flow into the device.”
She did so and immediately Elusion was sitting right beside him. “This is fantastic,” She said. “I married a clever man.”
Her high-pitched voice coming from the huge male persona made him laugh, Jubal could not help it. “Please don’t ever wear that to bed.”
She started laughing and was still doing so while removing the producer and handing it back to him. “I would like to see Natura wear it to bed. The look on Pan’s face would be priceless.”
Everyone laughed at the thought, but Jubal soon sobered at the contemplation of what he was about to do. Planning and preparation was one thing, but the time had come to act, and he would be breaking the law going forward, taking direct action against his friend. “This is no joke and not something to amuse ourselves with. I will work with each of you to create a persona to be used on missions so witnesses can never point to any of us as being involved. Do not breathe a word about my using Metamorphosis to create human constructs or about flying.”
The chuckles ceased. “Nothing in this meeting will be shared with anyone who is not a part of our group,” Victoria assured him; which was good because she was the one he had been the most concerned would fail to take the matter seriously. The others quickly voiced their agreement with her.
“There are no devices to hide our identities and we cannot fly away,” Cassiopeia pointed out, speaking for the Anakim, “Which means we will have to be very careful.”
“It is as you say,” Jubal agreed. “Everyone now knows what Andie meant by my traveling as a Weapocarn,” he added and was ready to get back to the business at hand. “To an..,”
“So that is why you are wearing those fine steel knives,” Vicky interrupted while pointing to the weapons. “I was wondering why a highly skilled Melody-wielder would bother with such common armaments, pretty as they are.”
“Yes and they are functional,” he replied while resisting the urge to draw one to demonstrate. The tiny prick he might have given her would not take much energy to heal; even so the notion was rejected in favor of going on with what he wanted to say. “To answer Orion’s question, I say, you Anakim can help here. I have created a figurine that looks like me wearing my silks. When I am away scouting or taking part in relocating the newest settlers, an Aakacarn will have to wear that amulet and pretend to be me. You will help by doing everything you can to convince even the other Weapocarns in the household that the imposter is me.”
“Is that all?” Andromeda complained, clearly desiring a grander role.
“I am sure greater opportunities will arise, but for this night and for days to come, covering for me will be the biggest help,” Jubal replied, and seeing she and the others still did not seem to understand the limitation, he added, “Getting the families out tonight and snatching Betsenadab in the mourning will require skillful Melody-wielding. Otherwise I would use you all as scouts and guides. I may in the future need those talents of yours, but for now, what I need is help in maintaining secrecy.”
“You shall have it,” Orion assured him.
Bast arrived minutes later with two of the three families. “This is Ruuple, his wife Drusilla, and their daughter, Deborah,” she introduced the first group, all of whom were soaking wet, unlike the silks of the Aakacarn, which were pristine.
The man and his wife were both dark of hair and eye. Their wool robes were dyed a pale green and matched the color of their sandals. Each person held a sack over their shoulder. The ten-year-old looked like a tiny version of her father, except of course in gender and with more delicate facial features, making her a pretty girl.
“Instructor, thank you for the opportunity you are giving us,” Ruuple said along with a bow of his head.
“It is my duty to help,” Jubal replied, graciously, and then summoned potential using the Aaka, Laundering.
He touched each of their garments, instantly cleaning and drying them, and then did the same with the sacks. “We cannot allow you to remain sopping wet and grow ill.”
Drusilla bowed at the waist and then smiled. “Thanks for the cleansing and concern for our health.”
Deborah’s eyes widened with amazement as she stood rubbing the dry wool of her green sleeve. “I wish I could clean my clothes this fast.”
Vashti walked over to her. “My husband can be extremely helpful at times. He and I want you three to get off to a good start.”
While Jubal welcomed the couple and their daughter and hoped the best for them, it was the second family that caused him to smile.
Connisea ran to him shouting, “Uncle Jubal!”
Her brown eyes seemed to light up with joy as he lifted her with one hand and placed her on his broad shoulder. “My goodness, you certainly have grown since the last time a saw you.” Her pink woolens were instantly cleaned and dried at his touch.
“That was way back when I was only three, now I am four,” she proudly announced her age, and then touched her dry blouse. “I like it when you do magic.”
Rue walked up to him with all the dignity an eleven-year-old could muster. “It is good to see you again, Uncle Jubal. Poppa says the place you are taking us is very nice. Thank you,” he added after his woolens were dried.
The boy had never made it to high ground, his mother had been at the settlement giving birth to his sister, and so only his father had actually camped at the site. Peleg stepped up with his wife beside him and each held a huge sack slung over their shoulders, both individuals were dripping wet and no doubt anxious to receive the cleansing performed on the others. “As instruct
ed, we brought only these filled with clothing and a few essentials. We were told a dwelling has been prepared for us along with a few furnishings,” he paused, taking a breath. “I too am thankful to be among the first to settle in a new area. Semidon is pleasant enough, yet I feel the urge to start anew elsewhere.”
“Pan has taken care of the basics, any extras will have to be added on your own in time, but I am told each dwelling is lightly furnished,” Jubal assured, trusting Pan’s report to be accurate “As to the new start, it is my duty to help.”
“At least at our new dwelling we will not have to worry about saying the wrong thing and being arrested for it,” Hadassah added her opinion and then peered around the room. “I do not see Kareesia and the children. Are they not coming tonight?”
“They will be here,” Vashti assured her.
Jubal focused Laundering on the couple and by the time he cleaned the second sack, the mother in question, along with her four daughters and three sons, entered the room ahead of Ursa. They were all dry, which meant the bulky Aakacarn sister of Andromeda thought to take care of that issue before bringing them farther into the house.
He noticed Deborah moving to stand beside Rue and the way she eyed him made Jubal think of a buyer at a market. The boy seemed unaware of the scrutiny until the girl spoke to him. “Will you carry my sack?”
Rue turned at the sound of her voice and his eyes widened as if he had never seen a girl before or at least had not expected to be spoken to by one. “Sure,” he replied and took the sack from her.
Jubal smiled, knowing his nephew had just passed the first test.
Ursa walked up to him. “Instructor, I was informed of your intent to move the families tonight but could not give an answer to when Betsenadab would be relocated.”
Kareesia stepped away from her children and over to him. “I appreciate what you are doing for us and how you intend to help my husband. He doesn’t know anything about relocating but I am sure he will prefer freedom to live with his family in a new settlement over spending an indefinite amount of years at hard labor. Can you tell me when he will be informed and when you will attempt to rescue him?”
Dawn Of The Aakacarns Page 41
