Sixth Seal

by Thornbrugh, Josh

  Xi Shi grabbed Kang’s shoulder and gently turned him around. “Don’t you think that should be fixed before we set sail?”

  “There’s not enough time. Besides, the Captain has taken her out in much worse shape than this.” Kang walked backward a few paces until they were even with a red lacquered door. “Here’s your room.” He pushed the door open, ushering them inside.”

  Before they could ask any more questions, Kang waved them into the room. “Don’t worry. The Sea Dragon always finds her way home.” He shut the door leaving them alone.

  Xi Shi wasn’t sure the Sea Dragon would be able to find her way home from this voyage.

  ***

  Light crept through the single porthole in their cabin, but that wasn’t what had awakened Xi Shi. It was the noise, or rather the commotion. She could hear footsteps on deck and shouting from below. The disturbance had apparently roused Wang Xu as well, for he was dressed and striding for the door. When he saw that she was awake, he motioned for her to join him.

  “Do you think it’s the crew?” She put a hand on his shoulder.

  He shook his head. “Too much noise just to be the crew. I think something else is going on as well.”

  The narrow hallways were fairly dim now, as the lamps had presumably been doused in the night. Fortunately, Wang Xu appeared to remember how to get back to the deck. She felt at her waist for the book, reassured by its warm presence in the leather pouch.

  The deck was bustling with activity, a stark contrast to last night. She counted eight men attending to the ship’s rigging and another three coming up the ramp with large wooden barrels.

  “What do you suppose those are?” She tapped Wang Xu on the arm and pointed to the barrels.

  He seemed distracted, but he answered anyway. “Most likely supplies. Rice, fresh water, everything we’ll need for an extended time at sea.” He walked to the rail and peered over the side.

  “What is it?” She stood on her tiptoes to get a better look down the pier.

  He leaned farther over the edge, looking back to the south at the row of ships moored along the docks. “Looks like Imperial soldiers.”

  She started to say something, but he pushed past her and grabbed the next man coming up the ramp. The man nearly dropped the large barrel he was carrying and muttered something under his breath. Something about Wang Xu’s look stopped him.

  “Where is your captain?”

  The man shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know, sir. I suspect he’ll be along soon.”

  Wang Xu shook the man. “We need to set sail now.”

  The man pulled free from his grip. “Not without the captain. Besides, we have to get all of the supplies loaded. The quicker you let me finish, the quicker we can be underway.”

  Wang Xu nodded and gestured for the man to continue with his duties.

  “Maybe we can hide below deck.” Xi Shi offered.

  “I don’t think it would do any good.” He leaned back over the railing. “It looks like they’re searching each ship one by one.”

  “These men could help us fight them off.”

  “Not likely. They’re not soldiers and I doubt if they’d be willing to risk their lives for the likes of us.” Wang Xu scanned the pier. “Our best bet is for the captain to return and get this ship out to sea.”

  Another couple of men came up the ramp hauling a slatted crate. The man closest to them spoke. “Our departure might be delayed.” He motioned with a quick flip of his head toward the soldiers. “Looks like they’re looking for something.”

  “Or someone,” added Xi Shi. She stopped talking when Wang Xu glared at her.

  He turned his attention back to the man. “Is this ship ready to set sail?”

  The man laughed. “Well she’s still moored, and without some wind we’re going to have to row her out to open water.”

  Xi Shi grabbed the man’s arm. “What if a strong wind were to appear?”

  “Well, we could probably get out to sea pretty soon once we cut the ropes, but we aren’t going anywhere without the captain.”

  Wang Xu looked down at the pier. His eyes grew wide. Apparently the Imperial soldiers had divided into groups and were searching the remaining ships at the same time. Six heavily armored men were now making their way up the ramp.

  “Cut the ropes now!” Wang Xu ordered.

  “I answer only to the captain.” The man protested.

  Xi Shi pointed back towards the tavern they’d been at the night before. “There’s your captain and he’s coming fast.”

  All the men on deck looked out to see their captain charging toward the ship on a black horse. He was waving his staff at them and shouting, although his words couldn’t span the distance.

  “Your captain is coming. Now cut the damn ropes!” Wang Xu pushed the man toward the upper deck before turning to the others. “Cut the ropes!” Something about his wild eyes and booming voice spurred the rest of the crew into action.

  The men on the ramp, hearing the commotion, drew their swords and charged toward them. Wang Xu drew his dagger and prepared to face them.

  The book became hot beneath her robes. She pulled it from the pouch, light spilling out of the Eye of Jupiter. She saw through the light and into the center where great billowing clouds were forming over a raging sea. The book was communicating to her, but it needed her to act. She was the spark, the tempest that could channel the power. In that moment she realized it wasn’t the book’s power, it was the power of the Earth and the life that inhabited it. The book simply made it possible for one attuned like herself to wield that power.

  She held the book at arm’s length up to the sky. Words poured from her mouth in a voice that was not her own, raising and falling in a discordant symphony that willed the sky to darken and a spiral of dark clouds to form like the tendrils of some great sea creature. She could hear the sails behind her flap to attention and the battens creak as air filled the empty space. The ship groaned and strained against her moorings as if the Sea Dragon were actually alive and ready to free herself from the wanton grasp of the land.

  Xi Shi was vaguely aware of Wang Xu diving to the side. When the book’s incantation was finished, she dropped her arms and fell to her knees, exhausted. For the first time she could see what had made Wang Xu jump out of the way. Sheng-Li had mounted the ramp with his horse and was batting at the soldiers with his staff. They jumped from the platform to avoid being trampled by the determined steed, falling one by one into the sea below.

  When his horse crested the railing and landed on the deck as though it had done so a thousand times before, Sheng-Li dismounted, raised his staff above his head and yelled at the top of his lungs. “Cut the moorings you lazy bastards!”

  The crew must have already anticipated his orders, because they were on the ropes before the words escaped his lips. They used every blade they had to hack away at the massive moorings. The ship continued to creak and groan as the sails, full of air, pulled her taut. The rest of the Imperial soldiers, seeing the commotion, regrouped and headed toward the ship. But they were too late. With a final thwack, the last of the ropes fell and the Sea Dragon rocked back, nearly tipping over, before righting herself and gliding sideways away from the pier.

  The men, who looked little more than a band of misfits a moment ago, jumped into action, working the ropes and cutting the sails so that the wind shifted the Sea Dragon forward and out toward open waters, leaving a throng of angry soldiers cursing and waving their fists behind them.

  The Eye of Jupiter

  Years of repressed emotions welled up from somewhere deep inside her and burst forth like floodwaters cresting a weakened levee. Ana collapsed in Frederick’s arms, still trying to make sense of this new revelation. He held her close, tucking her head under his chin and whispering gentle reassurances. She buried her face in his chest and sobbed.

  “Just let it all out, baby girl.” He stroked her hair, continuing to whisper comforts.r />
  They stood together in a locked embrace until she got the worst of it out. She pulled back from him and stared into his eyes.

  “What happened to you? Mom would never tell me anything?”

  “Don’t be too hard on your mother,” he wiped the tears from her eyes. “She just couldn’t accept what we are. It was too much for her to understand.”

  “So you’re connected to the book like me?”

  “I’m connected to you, Ana. I’m a gatherer.”

  She pulled back a little more. “How can it be that you’re a gatherer and my father?”

  “I’m not entirely sure, but I don’t think you and I are unique in that regard.” He glanced past her. “Maybe we should find somewhere a little safer to talk.”

  Several long shadows washed over them as people passed by the alley. The sky was getting darker, but there was still too much activity to make a move on the apartment.

  “I need to stay close. The Eye of Jupiter is in that building down the street.”

  “So that’s why Gabriel was here.” Frederick walked to the edge of the alley and peered around the corner.

  “You saw him?”

  He nodded. “I followed him here, hoping he’d lead me to you.”

  “To me?”

  “He’s always had an obsession with you.”

  She touched his arm. “What do you mean?”

  He turned to face her. “Gabriel found you when we were in France. I tried to keep the others from finding you until I could teach you the ways of our kind and help you to regain your memories, but…” He looked away.

  “But?”

  “Gabriel said he wanted to study you. He said that you alone were capable of controlling the book and that we could work together to harness your powers. He insisted we could stop the Horsemen.” He paused for a moment as if considering his words carefully. “But there was something about him, something familiar.”

  “Familiar?”

  “Not from personal experience per se, rather it was something another gatherer told me.” He grabbed her shoulder. “You knew the man once, during the war. I can’t recall his name now. My memories are still a little fuzzy, but he said that Gabriel was watching you then as well.”

  “I knew a man named Jacques during the war.”

  He shook his head. “I’m just not sure. Do you remember much from that time?”

  “Some, but much of it is foggy. I do know that sometime during the war I separated the Eye from the book.”

  “And now you’ve tracked it here?”

  “Yes.” She rubbed her temples. “So you didn’t trust Doctor Gabriel?”

  “No. I had a strong feeling that he was working for the Horsemen and that he wanted to harness your powers for their benefit.”

  “So why didn’t you stop him?” As soon as she said the words she wished she hadn’t. Frederick, her father, obviously still blamed himself for what happened to her, and the pain on his face was evident. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—“

  “It’s all right, Ana.” He brushed her cheek with his palm, staring into her eyes. “I should have been more cautious. I took too many chances, and when I realized what was going on, it was too late.”

  “What happened?”

  “The bastard shot me.”

  “But then why didn’t…” she bit her lip and thought for a moment. “Why didn’t Doctor Gabriel take me then instead of waiting all these years to find me?”

  The look on Frederick’s face told her he didn’t have the answer. “I’m not sure. I assumed that’s exactly what happened. Where did he find you?”

  “In a mental hospital in Maryland where mother had me committed.”

  This time it was her father who couldn’t hold back the tears. They fell freely, streaking his face like tiny glistening streams rushing over a parched basin. “I’m so sorry, Ana. I wish things could have been different for you. I hoped you would be the one to finally end all of this madness, but I failed you and now we may be too late.”

  “Maybe everything happened the way it was meant to.” She caught his questioning gaze. “If you can help me get the Eye of Jupiter I think I may be able to stop these bastards.”

  ***

  There were still quite a few people on the street when they left the cover of the alley. Ana was relieved. It afforded them a modest amount of camouflage as they made their way to a van that Frederick…her father…had parked a block away. She was still having trouble thinking of him as her father. It was all just so strange.

  The van was a Volkswagen and it looked like he had been living in it for some time. He cleared off a spot on a seat against the window and pulled back a fraying curtain so they had a clear view of the building.

  Now that she could see his face better, Ana knew without a doubt that Frederick was her father. Despite his youthful features, there was still an old soul behind those eyes. Even the way he held his mouth was familiar. Her father’s mannerisms played on his face.

  “Dad?”

  He smiled delicately at the word. “Yes?”

  “How long have you been looking for me?”

  An errant strand of light caught his blue eyes as he turned to her. “Years.” He leaned closer, placing a hand on her knee. “When I was a young boy I had dreams of a little girl with the most beautiful big blue eyes. It wasn’t until I was thirteen that my memories really took shape.” He looked back out the window. “Then I realized the little girl was you. I ran away from home, lived on the streets of Barcelona. I wandered for years letting the gatherer’s call guide me.” His voice faltered. “It finally brought me back to you.”

  She squeezed his hand. “Yes, it did.”

  “I haven’t seen Gabriel leave the apartment, but I don’t see how he could still be inside with all of the police activity. Do you know anything about what happened in there?”

  “I’m pretty sure he killed the lady who lived there.” She sat back in the seat. “I’m not even certain if she knew what he was after. In fact, I think it’s hidden somewhere inside. The Eye showed things to me, as though it was a witness, but Martin was able to see it too. They must have come back--”

  “Who is Martin?”

  “He’s one of the Horsemen. The leader I think.”

  “And there went out another, a red horse; power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that men should kill one another; and there was given unto him a great sword.”

  “Revelations?”

  He looked into her eyes. “All of the religions of the world have their origins in the book. Our ancestors mingled with the people of this planet, diluting and spreading the line. They carried portions of the great book in their memories. Over time, just like a secret whispered, the origins and meanings became twisted. Now the people use it as a reason to kill each other.”

  “How do you know so much about the book?”

  “The gatherers have passed the stories on to each other for centuries.” He folded his arms behind his head. “Hell, who knows? We’ve probably twisted the stories more than anyone.”

  “So the pages of the book speak of the Horsemen, and all of this has been foretold?”

  He shrugged. “I suppose so, but nobody really knows how it ends.”

  Despite the situation, she couldn’t help but laugh. “Good. We can write our own damn ending.”

  “Sounds good to me, but we should probably get started before the Horsemen write it first.”

  ***

  The moon staked out its spot in the sky by the time they decided to make their move. They slipped from the back of the van and walked several blocks away from the apartment building before crossing the street and doubling back down the alley. The front of the building was still being watched by a uniformed police officer.

  Frederick pointed toward the fire escape. “I think that’s our best bet. What was the apartment number?”

  “209.”

  Aft
er a couple of attempts, he managed to pull the ladder down closer to ground level. It groaned and squealed as though it had never been used. “We’d better go up to the third or fourth floor then make our way back down.”

  “Why’s that?”

  He motioned for her to start climbing before he answered. “There might be another officer stationed on the second floor. I’m afraid we’ll lose the element of surprise if we bust open a window right in front of him.”