Stones Of Power - The Complete Chronicles Of The Jerusalem Man Part 54

That is why you cannot find Jerusalem, Shannow, he told himself. Your sins burden you down.

There is no Jerusalem!

The thought leapt unbidden to his mind and he s.h.i.+vered. He had seen sb much in these last few years and his doubts were many. But what choice do I have, he wondered. If there is no Jerusalem, then all is in vain. And so the search must go on. For what purpose? For me! For as long as I search, then Jerusalem exists - if only in my mind. And that is chough.

I need no more. You lie, Shannow! Yes, yes, I lie. But what does that prove? I must search.

I must know. Where next mil you search? Beyond the Great Wall. And if not there? To the ends of the earth and the borders of h.e.l.l!

Coming to the top of the rise, he turned west seeking the pa.s.s through the mountains. He rode the deer trails for more than two hours before joining the main track, which was scarred by the rims of wagon wheels and the hooves of many horses. The rain had ceased and the sun broke clear-of the clouds. He rode more warily now, halting often and studying his surroundings. With the sun at its height he stopped and rested in the shadow of a looming natural pillar of stone. It was cool here and he read his Bible for an hour, enjoying the Song of Solomon. By mid-afternoon the Jerusalem Man had pa.s.sed the mountains and was following a narrow track down into the valley beyond.

To the west he could see the McAdam wagon, following the wider trail which led into the town. To the north, beyond the buildings, the valley stretched for miles, ending in a huge wall that vanished into the distance. Shannow drew a long gla.s.s from his bags and through it he scanned the Wall. It was ma.s.sive and even at this distance he could make out the flowers and lichens sprouting between its great blocks. He transferred his gaze to the sky, seeking the wonders beyond the Wall, but only huge white clouds could be seen gently rolling across the vault of Heaven. Hitching himself round in the saddle, he focused on the McAdam wagon. The woman was at the reins; he could see her honey-blonde hair and the flesh of her right leg as it rested against the brake. The children were walking behind, leading the horse. They would be in the town long before Shannow. He studied the buildings below. Most were wood structures - some timber, some log - but there were stone dwellings of several storeys, mostly at the eastern end. There appeared to be one main thoroughfare stretching for around four hundred paces and then, in the shape of a 'T', buildings branched north and south of it. It was a thriving community and many more dwellings were in the process of completion. Beyond the town was a meadow packed with tents, large and small, and Shannow could see more than a dozen cook-fires. Families were moving in to setde the land and soon Pilgrim's Valley would house a city.

Shannow considered avoiding the town and riding on to the Wall, and beyond. But the stallion needed rest and grain feeding and the Jerusalem Man had not slept in a bed in what seemed an age. He rubbed at his chin and imagined a long, hot bath and the feel of a razor on his face. His clothes too were way overdue for a cleaning, and his boots were leaf- thin. Flicking a glance at the wagon, he could no longer see the driver nor the flesh of her leg at the brake.

CHAPTER TEN.

Oshere eased his swollen, misshapen frame into the room and tried to sit down in a wide chair. The discomfort was supreme; the muscles of his back no longer stretched as they should. He rose and squatted on his haunches, watching the Dark Lady as she sat, statue still, at the huge desk. Her eyes were closed, her spirit absent from her body. Oshere knew where she flew. She was deep down inside the drying smear of his blood that stained the crystal on her desk. Oshere sat silently until Chreena stretched her back and opened her eyes. She cursed softly.

'You must not be impatient,' said Oshere.

The black woman turned and smiled. 'Time races away from me,' she replied. 'How are you feeling?'

'Not good, Chreena. Now I know how s.h.i.+r-ran felt... and why he left. Perhaps I should go too.'

'No! I will not hear such talk. I am close, Oshere; I know I am. All I need to find out is why the daughter molecules depart from the norm. They should not; it is against nature.'

Oshere chuckled. 'Are we not against nature, my dear? Did G.o.d ever intend a lion to walk like a man?'

'I am not worthy to discuss G.o.d's aims, Oshere. But your genetic structure was altered hundreds of years ago and now it is reverting. There must be a way to halt it.'

'But that is what I am saying, Chreena. Perhaps G.o.d wants us back the way he created us.'

'I should never have told you the truth,' Chreena whispered.

His tawny eyes locked on her dark face. 'We have left the others in the joy of their myths, but it is better for me to know the truth. Dear Lord, Chreena, I am a lion. I should be padding the forests and the mountains. And I will be.'

'You were born as a human,' she told him, 'and you grew into a man. A fine man, Oshere.

You were not intended to prowl the wilds - I know it.'

'And s.h.i.+r-ran was? No, Chreena. You are a fine scientist, and you have cared for the People of the Dianae. But I think your emotions are ruling your intellect. We always thought that we were the Chosen People. We saw the statues in the cities and believed that Man was once subservient to us. The truth may not be as palatable, but I can live with it. It will not change the Law of the One that Oshere becomes a lion.'

'Nor if he does not,' said Chreena. 'Someone, a long time ago, began an experiment on chromosome engineering. The reasons I can only guess at. But the chain of life was altered in several species and this was successful - until now. What could be done then, can be done now. And I will find a way to reverse the process.'

The Bears have all reverted,' he pointed out. 'The Wol-vers are dying. And did you not make the same promise to s.h.i.+r-ran?'

'Yes, d.a.m.n you, I did. And I'll say it to the next unfortunate. I'll keep saying it until I make it true.'

Oshere looked away. 'Forgive me, Chreena. Do not be angry.'

'Dear G.o.d, I'm not angry with you, my dear. It is me. I have the Books inside my head, and the knowledge. But the answer eludes me.'

Take your mind from it for a while. Walk with me.'

'I can't. I have no time.'

Oshere pushed himself painfully to his feet, his great head lolling to one side. 'We both know that a tired mind will find no answers. Come. Walk with me on the hillside.'

He put out his hand, sheathing the talons that leapt unbidden from the new sockets at the ends of his swollen fingers. She put her fingers into the black mane on his cheek and kissed him gently. 'Just for a little while, then.'

Together they walked along the statue-lined hall and out into the bright sunlight blazing down on the terraced gardens. He stopped at a long marble bench and stretched himself along it. She sat beside him with his head resting on her lap.

'Tell me again of the Fall,' he said.

'Which one?'

The disaster that destroyed Atlantis - the one with the Ark.'

'Which Ark?' she asked him. 'During the Between Times there were more than five hundred legends involving Great Floods. The Hopi indians, the Arabs, the a.s.syrians, the Turks, the Norse, the Irish - all had their own racial memories of the day the world toppled. And each had their Ark. For some it was gopherwood, for others reeds. Some were giant vessels, others huge rafts.'

'But the Between Times people did not believe the legends, did they?'

'No,' she admitted. 'It was part arrogance. They knew the earth had changed, that the axis was no longer what it was, but they believed it was a gradual happening. However, the evidence was there. High water marks on the sides of mountains, seash.e.l.ls found in deserts; huge bone graveyards of animals found in mountain caves, where they must have gathered to escape the floods.'

'And why did the earth topple, Chreena, that first time?'

She smiled down at him. 'Your desire for knowledge is insatiable. And you know I will not tell you the secrets of the Second Fall. You are too guileless to attempt cunning, Oshere.'

Tell of the First Fall. Tell me.'

'I do not have all the answers. There was tremendous seismic activity. Tidal waves rolled across the lands - thousands of feet of rus.h.i.+ng water. There are indications in legends I have read of the sun and the moon reversing their motions, the sun rising in the West.

That phenomenon could only have been caused by the earth suddenly rolling. One of my teachers believed it was the result of a meteor striking the earth; another claimed it was the increasing weight of ice at the poles. Perhaps it was both. Many legends talk of the Atlanteans finding a source of great power and disturbing the balance of the world. They did indeed find such a power source. Who knows the truth? Whatever the answer, the roaring seas destroyed much of the world. And most of the continent that had been Atlantis sank beneath the new oceans.'

'Did no Atlanteans escape?'

'Some who lived in the far north survived. Another group lived on a large island which had once been a mountain range; it used to be called the Canaries. They lived there undisturbed until the middle 1300s AD; then they were discovered by a seafaring nation called the Spanish. The Spanish butchered them all, and the language and the culture were destroyed for all time.'

'The Between Times people were unusually harsh,' said Oshere. 'Most of your stories concerning them deal with death and destruction.'

'They were harsher than you could possibly imagine,' Chreena responded.

'And the Second Fall was worse than the first?'

'A thousand times worse. By then the world's population had multiplied many times, and almost eighty per cent of them lived in lands that were at best no more than 100 feet above sea level. Some were below it, and relied on sea walls or d.y.k.es. When the earth toppled, they were destroyed utterly.'

'And yet Man survived, as did the People of the Dianae.'

'We are tough, Oshere - and incredibly resourceful. And G.o.d did not want us all to die.'

'But is Human Man still evil and harsh? Does he still slaughter his fellows Beyond the Wall?'

'He does. But not all men are evil. There are still those who resist the Spell of the Land.'

'When they breach the Wall, will they come peacefully?'

'I don't know, Oshere. Now I must return to my work.'

Oshere watched the woman walk to her laboratory. Her skin was ebony dark and glistened as if oiled, and the undulating sway of her hips was a joy to behold. He realised he was now appreciating her beauty on a more aesthetic plane - yet another sign of the impending change. He raised himself from the bench and ambled down the terraces until he came to the main street. Everywhere there were people moving about their business. They saw him and bowed low - as befitted a man soon to be a G.o.d. A G.o.d?

The humour of it touched him fleetingly. Soon his mind would lose its intelligence, his voice would become a roar and he would spend the rest of his days driven not by a l.u.s.t for knowledge, but by the desire to fill a swaying belly. He remembered the first day when the woman known as Chreena had arrived at the city. Crowds had gathered to gaze on the blackness of her skin. Priests had bowed down before her and Oshere's older brother, the Prince s.h.i.+r-ran, had been smitten by her unearthly beauty. She had a child with her then, a sickly boy with wide sorrowful eyes, but he had died within the first two months of her stay. The physicians had been powerless; his blood, they said, was weak and diseased.

Chreena had mourned him for a long time. s.h.i.+r-ran, tall and handsome, and the finest athlete among the Dianae, had spent his days walking with her, telling her of the legends of the Dianae; showing her statues and holy buildings. At last - when they had become lovers - he had taken her on the long walk to the mountains of the Sword. She had returned dazed from the experience.

Then the Change had begun in s.h.i.+r-ran. The priests gave thanks and blessed him, and a great celebration was ordered for the dwellers of the city. But Oshere had noticed that Chreena did not join in the festivities.

One night he found her in the ancient medi-chamber of the palace, poring over Scrolls of the Lost Ones. And he remembered her words: 'd.a.m.n you, you b.a.s.t.a.r.ds! Was there no end to your arrogance?'

Oshere had walked forward. In those days he too had been tall and well formed, his eyes wide-set and tawny, his hair dark and gleaming, held in place by a band of gold. 'What troubles you, Chreena?'

'Your whole stupid civilisation!' she stormed. 'You know, once upon a time a people called the Incas believed that they could make people G.o.ds by cutting out their hearts.'

'Stupidity,' Oshere agreed.

'You are no different. s.h.i.+r-ran is being mutated into some kind of beast and you all drink to it. I have never mocked your legends, nor sought to fill you with the arcane knowledge I possess. But this?'

'What are you saying, Chreena?'

'How can I explain this to you? You have seen that dust and water combine to make clay.

Yes? Well, all living organisms are the same. We are all a combination of parts.'

'I know all this, Chreena; Heart, lungs, liver. Every child knows it.'

'Wait,' she commanded. 'I don't mean just the organs, or the bones or the blood. Oh, this is impossible ...'

Oshere sat down facing her desk. 'I am not slow-witted. Explain it to me.'

Slowly she began to talk of the genetic material that was vital to all living organisms. She did not use its Between Times name - deoxyribonucleic acid - nor the initials by which it became better known. But she did try to explain its importance in terms of controlling hereditary characteristics. For an hour she spoke, accompanying her words with sketches.

'So,' said Oshere at last, 'you are saying that these magic chains divide themselves into exact replicas? For what purpose?'

With extraordinary patience Chreena moved on to talk of genes and chromosomes. At last the light of understanding dawned in Oshere.

'I begin to see. How fascinating! But how does this make us stupid? Until we are told - or discover - new knowledge, we cannot be accused of foolishness. Can we?'

'I guess not,' said Chreena, 'but that is not what I meant. What I am saying is that s.h.i.+r- ran's genetic structure is changing, mutating. The daughter chains are no longer identical to the parent - and now I know why.'

'Tell me.'

'Because you are not people. You are ...' she stopped suddenly and looked away and Oshere's tawny eyes narrowed.

'Finish what you were saying.'

'Someone - some group - in the Between Times inserted a different gene into your ancestors - into your basic genetic code, if you like. Now - once in maybe five generations - the structure breaks down and reverts. s.h.i.+r-ran is not becoming a G.o.d - he's becoming what his ancestor was. A lion.'

Oshere rose. 'There are statues in the old cities which show lion-headed G.o.ds. They were wors.h.i.+pped. I have been educated to believe in the religion of my ancestors and I will not throw it aside. But I will speak to you again; I will learn which is correct.'

Chreena rose and took his arm. 'I'm sorry, Oshere. I should never have told you. You must not mention it to anyone else - especially s.h.i.+r-ran.'

'It is rather too late for that,' said s.h.i.+r-ran as he ambled into the room, his huge leonine head tilted. 'I am sorry, Chreena. It was rude to listen, but I could not help myself. I don't know about you, Oshere, but I do know I never felt less like a G.o.d.'

Oshere had seen tears in the great tawny eyes and had backed away from the former lovers.

s.h.i.+r-ran had fled the city three months later, pa.s.sing from the land without comment.

Oshere had spent the time since then with Chreena, learning in secret all the dark lore of the Between Times - save how it fell. Then - a month ago - Oshere himself had woken in the dawn to find his muscles racked with pain and his face strangely distended.

Chreena had worked ceaselessly to help him. But to no avail.

Now all he wanted was to learn as much as he could about the land, the stars and the Lord of All Things. And he had one dream he held in his heart like a jewel. He wanted to see the Ocean. Just once.

Her dreams were troubled. She was sitting at a feast, the only woman present. Around her the men were handsome and tall, their smiles easy, full of warmth and friendliness. She reached out to touch her companion and her hand rested on his arm, felt the fur. Then she recoiled and looked up into tawny eyes that chilled her, saw the long fangs that could rend her flesh. She sat frozen as, one by one, the men became lions, their eyes no longer friendly.

She awoke in a cold sweat and swung her long legs from the bed. The night was cool and the breeze from the balcony window caressed her naked body as she walked to the balcony and gazed over the moonlit city.

The People of the Dianae slept now in blissful ignorance of the real doom that awaited them. She s.h.i.+vered and returned to the bedroom. Sleep would not come again, but she was too tired to work. Wrapping herself in a warm woollen blanket, she pulled a chair to the balcony and sat beneath the stars.

'I miss you, Samuel,' she said, picturing the kindly face of the husband she had lost, the father of the son she had lost. 'If all men had been like you, the world would have remained Eden.'

But all men were not as Samuel Archer had been. They were driven by greed, or l.u.s.t, hate or fear. She shook her head. The People of the Dianae had never known war. They were gentle and conciliatory, kind and understanding. Now, like a perverse cosmic jest, they were beginning a reversion to savagery.

The Bear-people had long since lost their humanity. Chreena had journeyed with s.h.i.+r-ran to one of their settlements close to the Pool of the Sword and what she had seen there was terrifying. Only one human was left among them, and he had begun to revert.

'Go away from us,' he had said. 'We are cursed.'

Now their settlement was deserted, the tribe moving to the high timberlands away from prying eyes; far from pity or loathing.

A hunting roar sounded in the distance from the pride that roamed the plain before the city and Chreena s.h.i.+vered. Some thirty lions were living there, preying upon the deer and antelope. Yet once they had been men and women who talked and laughed, and sang.