Afterworld Page 34

  ‘Does it not worry you that there have been no traps? No false directions? If it is this easy, Anubis must have contrived it.’ She ran to catch up.

  ‘No. It does not worry me.’ He kept walking.

  ‘Do you not think that it means we are walking into some sort of even larger trap?’ Her voice reverberated with annoyance as it echoed down the narrow passageway.

  He stopped and turned, looking down into her face as she reeled back to avoid running into him. ‘Of course I know it is orchestrated by Anubis. He is, as ever, predictable. However, what would you have me do about it?’ Satarial did not wait for an answer. ‘The sooner we face him and whatever he has planned, the better. What would you suggest we do?’ He frowned. ‘Actually don’t tell me, I don’t want your human opinion.’

  She snorted. ‘Really? Aren’t you in love with a human? You can’t be so derogatory now.’

  ‘I can be whatever I want to be.’ He was still frowning, but his voice changed after the reference to Kaide and he narrowed his eyes at Eva. ‘Don’t you fear that you will lose Dominic Mathers? Just after you found him?’ His voice was thin and quiet.

  ‘Yes. Every minute.’ She met his eyes until it became uncomfortable and then broke her gaze and examined the walls of the corridor. ‘It says we are close to the River. We have both already completed the Maze, do you think we will be given Lost Souls again?’

  He didn’t answer her, but hesitated over the hieroglyphs on the wall. Eva persisted, unwilling to lose any ground she had made in a tentative connection. ‘Who was your soul?’

  Satarial pushed past her. ‘Is there a way to get over or around the River?’

  She shrugged. ‘I doubt it. That is the whole point of the Maze – dealing with those people.’

  He sighed and ran his fingers through his long, pale hair, most of which was now tied back neatly. There was only the faintest resemblance to the dishevelled wild thing that had attacked her earlier. Without looking at her he murmured, ‘I do not want to go back to the River. I did not, necessarily, complete the task I was given. And I would prefer we found another way through.’

  ‘What the hell does that mean? Didn’t necessarily complete the task? How did you cross the River if you didn’t complete the task?’

  He turned away. ‘I swam it.’

  Eva had begun to walk up the corridor, and at his words her feet stopped and she turned back instantly. ‘Swam it! Through the . . . the bodies? Didn’t they, try to . . . get you?’

  ‘Yes. It was not a pleasant experience. And I do not wish to repeat it.’ His eyes still refused to meet hers.

  ‘So you hated the soul you were given enough that you would rather swim the River. Who was it?’

  ‘I do not wish to speak of . . . him. At all.’ He sighed and kept walking.

  Within a few paces they reached a turn, which led them to the door that opened onto the pebbled beach of the River. They stared out at the glowing shapes in the water, the empty beach. Eva looked up and down the banks and then squinted into the darkness across the water. She thought she saw something, a dim figure moving in the distance.

  ‘Dominic!’ she called. ‘Dominic!’ It was almost a scream. But there was no response and the figure faded before her eyes could even confirm it had been real. She missed him suddenly. Dominic had, even from the first night when he had been so stunned by his own death, been able to make her feel something; usually frustrated, but also, quite often, happy. And she could barely remember even feeling happy when she had been alive.

  ‘Who are you looking for?’ A thin, piping voice wafted out of the darkness and a slender man with tanned, sun-spotted skin followed it. He was young, though older than Eva, and he had an open, gentle face, wrinkled slightly with concern.

  ‘A friend,’ she said carefully, knowing that on this beach she could be dealing with another traveller or a Lost Soul and either could be dangerous. From behind her she felt the firm grip of Satarial’s hand on her shoulder pulling her away.

  ‘Where are you going?’ the man asked, almost plaintively. ‘Can I come with you? I’ve been here a long . . . hey, I remember you. You were here before.’

  Satarial ignored the pointing finger. ‘Leave now.’ He spoke in a low, tight voice behind her ear. Eva looked at him to gauge his level of fear; if Satarial was afraid, she knew she should be too. His face was a surprising mix of anger and resentment and Eva understood the entire situation in that one expression. Flicking off his hand, she turned to the stranger and said, ‘Do you have any food? We will join you for a while if you are willing to share.’

  The man grinned suddenly, relief flooding him. ‘I do. I have bread and cheese and lots of wine.’

  Eva salivated at the thought of bread, she couldn’t remember when she had last eaten. Not at all in the Maze, and it had been a few days at least. Satarial glared at her and kept his distance as she crouched down and waited while the young man scurried back to retrieve a woven basket and withdrew a wrapped loaf of bread. Breaking it into three pieces, he added generous lumps of soft, white cheese and passed it over. Eva had stuffed half of it into her mouth before she noticed that Satarial had ignored the proffered food.

  Glancing up at him she spoke firmly. ‘Sit down. Eat. This is the way out.’

  He looked away over the River for a long moment and then slowly, elegantly folded himself down a few feet away, just far enough to be slightly rude. If he noticed, the stranger didn’t say anything. He smiled at Eva and ate with her, pulling the cork out of an ancient wine skin and passing it to her. She was incredibly thirsty, but the thought of wine was unappealing. Taking a small sip she was grateful to discover it tasted like juice, sweet and cold, and she gulped back enough to almost choke her throat closed.

  ‘I am Yaf. Yafeth, actually, but Yaf is okay.’ He nodded encouragingly.

  ‘Eva.’ She smiled at him and gestured towards her companion, who was still turned away. It was important to sound casual, but she knew she did not have much time to orchestrate the exchange. ‘Satarial. You said you knew him.’

  ‘Well, he was here before. It seems a long time ago, though. We talked for a minute and then he left in a hurry. I haven’t seen anyone since. Are you okay, friend?’ He leaned around Eva to see Satarial. ‘You are Nephilim are you not?’

  Satarial slowly turned his head and glared, but did not say a word. Eva sighed.

  ‘Yes, he is,’ she looked at Satarial condescendingly, ‘I imagine, given the nature of this place, that you have met each other at some point in your lives.’

  ‘Oh, no. I don’t think so. I was just a farm boy. We worked for Nephilim, but they didn’t speak to me. Sometimes to my father, but never, no, not to me.’ He didn’t seem fazed by the class system he had lived in. ‘You spoke with me last time you came here though. Did I offend you?’

  Something in his innocent voice roused Satarial from his sulk and he turned abruptly. ‘Offend me? Yes you did offend me, human. It is because of you that I am here at all. It is because of you that I lost my life.’

  Eva was not surprised. She knew the Maze too well, but Yaf was stunned. He pulled his knees to his chest defensively.

  ‘Me? I don’t think, I mean, I think you have the wrong person . . . sir. I haven’t killed anyone, especially not a Nephilim. Ever. We raised the cattle to feed your Great Ones. I worked for Ranaphael.’

  ‘Yes. I know this. Ranaphael was my father’s brother.’ He took a deep breath, his hands slid through the pebbles, and as he raised his hands up, the pebbles fell in tense percussion. ‘You are the son of Noyach are you not?’

  Yaf smiled uncertainly. ‘Yes. Sir. I am. Our cattle were very fine, sir, we took them all the way to the East.’

  ‘In your boat, yes. I remember that boat well. The largest there was. Enough to fit your entire stock aboard.’

  Yaf nodded again. ‘Yes.’

  ‘But not large enough for any of my people. When the waters rose out of the Earth and covered everything.’ Satarial’s face masked
suppressed rage and Eva was impressed that he controlled it so well.

  ‘Oh. That.’ Yaf’s face crumpled and his eyes became wet. ‘But the Great Ones . . .’ He trailed off futilely.

  Satarial watched him with disgust. ‘The Great Ones died in the fires. You know that. The fires had only just been contained when the water came. You closed the doors of your boat to my people . . .’

  There was a silence as Yaf broke. His face collapsed and his fingers bit into the thin legs he had pulled tight to his body. ‘I know. It was my father. He,’ Yaf seemed horrified by the words coming out of his mouth, ‘he saw a chance to . . . be . . . free of you. I’m so sorry.’ Then he released a strange sound, almost a sob, but more like a shattered breath. ‘I remember the girl. The girl that was with you . . . I saw her. And someone held her up. I remember. I begged him to help her. I did. But your people, were not always . . . kind to us. And my father was . . . very old and . . . resentful. I’ve never forgotten. I haven’t.’ He rubbed his face, peering through his fingers at Satarial and waiting for a reaction.

  There was a long moment of silence before the Nephilim looked sideways at him and by then Satarial had control of himself again.

  ‘That was my brother’s child. The first daughter in a generation. Asparille. She was . . . very young. It was me who held her up. As long as I could. The water was . . .’ He stopped talking for another long pause and then turned to speak to Eva instead. She watched his face, its smooth ageless pall seeming suddenly worn. He explained, ‘The water came from everywhere. From the sky, out of the Earth, the sea rose. The Great Fires were part of a war that must have cracked the Earth open. We all died in the flood and he let that happen.’

  ‘We could have taken your family. There were only a few dozen of you. We could. I’m so sorry. I wanted to. But my father was a very difficult man.’

  ‘I have spoken with him since. I am aware of his feelings.’ Satarial had the grace to look away as he and Eva remembered the figure trapped in the glass tank, his pink and milky eyes gazing out on the Arena. She wondered what had become of Noah since his freedom was finally granted.

  Yaf stood, his thin body that of a man still young when he died. ‘I should go. I don’t want to make you remember something terrible. I’m very sorry. I think about it all the time. It is all I think about.’ He picked up the last chunk of the bread and handed it to Eva before he walked away.

  Eva picked up a small stone and threw it at Satarial. He glared at her as she gestured towards the retreating figure. He took a deep breath and said quietly, though audibly, ‘Yafeth, wait. I do not hold you responsible, Yafeth. Possibly not even your father.’ He ran his hands through the stones again and they made a soft musical sound. ‘I have since learned more of humans and I do not believe we were always fair in our treatment of those who worked with . . . for us. Asparille did not die because of you. She died because we started a war and it caused a flood. If we had protected the Great Ones, they could have saved us. We did many things wrong.’ Satarial finally turned his head to face Yaf, and he nodded.

  He looked as though the conversation had exhausted him and Eva was incredibly impressed. She had not imagined the Nephilim would ever overcome even a small part of his pride, let alone acknowledge his own faults. Yaf sagged a little at the comment, nodding his head.

  ‘Thank you, sir. Thank you. You can’t even imagine . . .’

  Eva spoke up before the conversation became too emotional. ‘I think if you walk towards the shore, Yaf, you will find there is a boat waiting for you.’

  ‘Really? I’ve never thought to look for a boat.’ He smiled. ‘Thank you.’ It was said to Eva, but still addressed to Satarial, who gave him one last curt nod before turning back into the darkness.

  Yaf wandered away and was soon drifting out of sight in the long wooden skiff helmed by the boatman.

  Eva turned to Satarial and opened her mouth to speak.

  ‘Do not say a word. Ever.’

  She laughed quietly. ‘I was merely going to say, we shouldn’t just sit here talking all night. We’ve got a River to cross.’ She stood up. ‘Oh, and I’m proud of you. I know how hard that was for you.’

  ‘If only you knew how little that means to me.’ He rolled lithely to his feet and gestured with his hand for her to lead the way to the River. As she passed him, Eva caught the smallest of smiles escaping his tightly drawn mouth.

  ‘I saw that. You’re definitely half-human.’

  Satarial simply shook his head and they walked together through the loose stones towards the edge of the River, which was now smooth and empty. Just as they were about to step out into the water there was a rustling in the stones behind them and a sharp intake of breath.

  ‘Satarial? It is you!’

  They turned to see Deora running daintily towards them. She ignored Eva and spoke in the ancient language. An idiom full of long vowel sounds and subtle nuances, which Deora spoke with a sultry confidence. Eva watched Satarial’s face as they spoke, and it tightened in consternation. He was not happy to see her. When they finally stopped speaking, he turned towards Eva to translate. Deora sighed and interrupted him.

  ‘Oh, I forgot that you are unable to understand us.’ She looked at Eva with a smile stretched over a foundation of disgust. ‘I was travelling the Maze with Dominic Mathers, perhaps you remember him?’ She smiled with sugary sarcasm. ‘Anubis has made plans to destroy the Maze, and leave the humans and Nephilim to wage war in the Necropolis. Persephone is helping him.’

  ‘Persephone?’ Eva asked.

  ‘The Guide – the woman in charge of the Room of Judgement.’ Eva saw a flicker of strange emotion as Deora spoke of Persephone and wondered if perhaps it was fear.

  ‘And Dom?’ Eva pressed.

  ‘He has joined them. He left me back in the Maze. I had to run from Anubis’ jackals. We need to leave now.’ She looked at Satarial. ‘We will go through the Judgement together.’

  He watched her thoughtfully and as he did his hand slipped behind Eva and gently rested on hers. She knew what he was doing and left her hand open and still. In an instant their minds were joined and she saw his thoughts; he was on her side in this.

  ‘Deora.’ Eva smiled. ‘You do not understand humans at all. Do you really think a simple lie would be enough to convince me that Dominic had abandoned you and turned against all of humanity? You do not know him well.’

  Deora’s eyes narrowed, but she continued to smile. ‘Oh, I know him very well, girl. We have been in here many nights together. I know him in ways you cannot even imagine.’

  Eva flushed at the thought, remembering her vision of the two of them kissing in the Necropolis, and for a moment her poise was lost. Satarial placed his hand on her back, straightening her, holding her up.

  ‘I do know you, Deora,’ Satarial said. ‘I know what you are. I have known for some time and there is no more need for games. I let you do as you wanted in the City because I did not care about the humans. And I hated the Awe as much as you. But now, I want the truth.’

  Eva listened to him in surprise. ‘What you are?’ She turned her attention to Deora. ‘What are you?’

  Deora’s expression was one of deep distaste and she addressed only Satarial. ‘I am everything. I am what you will never be. And I wish to see the Awe. The girl can take me through the Room of Judgement and then I will leave her here for the boy. I had hoped Dominic would take me through, but Persephone took him. I am stripped of my full powers here and she is strong.’

  ‘You are with Anubis?’ Satarial asked.

  ‘Anubis is with me. We have had enough of the Awe and its fascination with humans. There will be no more Afterworld. No more soul journey for humans. Humans can exist and die and be done.’ Deora sighed. ‘You will stay here until he returns, as I am sure he will, to look for the girl.’

  ‘Why did you have Anubis bring me here?’ Satarial asked.

  She sighed again, annoyed or frustrated. ‘That was Anubis’ plan. I knew Dominic would
pass the Judgement. I cannot. I was going to use him to get through the room. To see the Awe. And in case we became separated and he tried to leave without me, I needed you.’

  Satarial looked at her in confusion. ‘Why would I make any difference? It is unlikely I would pass the Judgement either and you know that.’

  She laughed. ‘I don’t care if your heart is as black as the River. I knew you would stop Dominic from leaving.’

  He was still wary. ‘Why? Why would I want to stop him?’

  ‘Because he is your enemy. Because you cannot let him win.’

  Satarial laughed then. Eva had never seen it before and clearly neither had Deora. It was a strange mischievous laugh that made him seem like a young man, rather than a warrior or a king. ‘Really? You think I am as morbid as the Angels? As petty as the Archangels? I had my fight with Dominic. I lost. And he was right. I have made my peace with that and I do not care if he passes through the Maze.’

  Deora tried to mask her surprise with an aloof smile. ‘You can say what you will now. I have a new plan for you. You wish to return to the Necropolis to be with your human. I will allow it. The girl will take me through the Judgement with her and you will wait here in case Dominic returns.’

  ‘I will not.’ Eva looked up into Deora’s eyes. ‘I will not.’

  ‘I will tear you to pieces.’ Deora smiled calmly.

  ‘Do it.’ Eva swallowed and stepped back despite herself. Deora stepped forward in a flash and threw Eva like a rag doll into the stone wall of the Maze. Eva slid to the ground, slumping onto the stones with a groan. The last thing she saw through a narrowing black tunnel of vision was Satarial and Deora circling each other, ready to attack.

  11

  Dominic’s Hourglass

  1698 Minutes

  Dom knew he was almost across the River when he saw Persephone waiting for him, her white gown a dim light in the darkness, reflecting the dying embers of his torch. Her eyes smiled at him.

  ‘I am glad to see you made it, Dominic. It is our greatest challenge to lead another to peace, particularly if they have wronged us.’