The Tomb of Genghis Khan

by Preston William Child

  Yusuke nodded but still looked back at August with some unease. “Everyone talks about how the Order of the Black Sun used to be full of killers, and criminals, and monsters. Is he one of those beasts?”

  “He might be,” Purdue said. “I'm not entirely sure. We can hope not, aye?”

  “But that’s how it was, yes? The Black Sun used to hurt a lot of people.”

  “They did,” Purdue confirmed. “Before I took over, the order was willing to go to whatever lengths they needed to if it meant getting what they wanted. Those lengths sometimes included murderer and all kinds of horrible shit. It wasn't a great team to be a part of. As you've been able to see, things aren't entirely like that anymore. I've taken measures to change all of that. And I've recruited people like you and Riley, who aren't here to hurt people. You're here because of the history. August was part of that more violent Black Sun, and I think he was indeed recruited because he could harm people. I'll say this, he wouldn't have been someone I personally brought on board. But, I’ve had to adapt and deal with some of the people that were from the previous version of the order. If August wants to be part of my new Black Sun, then he'll have to modify, too.”

  “And if he doesn’t?”

  “Then we'll see what happens,” Purdue suggested. “But who knows? Maybe he'll surprise us. The Order of the Black Sun that he first joined is gone. He’ll have to come to terms with that. This expedition might be his best chance to do that. And when he smashes someone to bits helping us, we might be glad someone like him is on our side.”

  Nina wasn't asleep yet. She was staring out the window, deep in thought. Purdue took a seat next to her and gave her a little one-armed hug.

  “Having trouble sleeping?”

  “Is it that obvious?” Nina said with a small smile. Her eyes flickered over to August's direction and that little smile faltered. “Do you really think it was a good idea to bring him along?”

  Purdue laughed, almost a little too loud. “Everyone keeps asking me that. If I didn't think it was a good idea, then I wouldn't have assigned him to this expedition. We might need some extra muscle, so I brought some extra muscle.”

  “Sure,” Nina agreed but didn't look very pleased. “I just don't want it to bite us in the ass in the end, that's all. He was one of them, Purdue.”

  “I know he was.”

  “I don't think you realize...” Nina stopped and looked back out the window, averting her eyes from Purdue. “He was one of the guards. When I was Julian's prisoner, that big bastard was constantly patrolling the corridors, making sure I didn't escape. Day after day, he made sure that I didn't flee.”

  “I'm sure he had orders...”

  “I don't care if he had instructions. I saw him almost every day from my cell. He'd bring me those scraps of food, so I wouldn't starve. He'd stand there, looking down at me and drop those crumbs in between the bars.”

  “I know it has to be hard,” Purdue said, feeling a little guilty. “But all of this...it's a transitional mess, aye? We just have to keep a clear head. Elijah was one of them too, remember--”

  “August isn't like Elijah,” Nina spat, trying to refrain from yelling. “Elijah helped me. It took a while, but he came around and aided me to escape from that horrible place. Elijah realized he was on the wrong side and decided to help all of us. August never had that realization. August spent the whole time lumbering around, making sure I stayed put in my cell. He's only working with us because he feels obligated. He didn't come to our side voluntarily. You really think if anything happens to you, that he'll protect you?”

  “I'm not sure.”

  “And that doesn't scare you?” Nina looked so nervous. “It should, David. Listen to me. I get that you want to make some of the old Black Sun bastards feel included...you feel compelled to include them and maybe that will help break some of the tension, but if it means putting yourself and the rest of us in danger...” Nina took a breath. “I just think we should all be able to trust each other on trips like this. That's the order that I thought we were making. A trustworthy one.”

  “I'm doing the best I can, Nina,” Purdue said bluntly. “And I know...trust me, it does scare me.” Purdue looked over at August. “But maybe I should diffuse the situation, aye? Make it so there's no chance of a detonation to begin with?”

  “And how exactly do you plan to do that?”

  Purdue smiled. “With a nice civil conversation, of course. I'm a very persuasive man.”

  PURDUE TAPPED August on the shoulder, and the big man opened his beady eyes. He looked up at Purdue with some annoyance. Maybe waking him up from his nice nap wasn't the best idea, but Purdue wanted to be able to speak to him while most of the people aboard the plane were asleep? It was a bit of an awkward situation, and it would continue to be if Purdue couldn't get everyone on the same page.

  “Anyone sitting here?” Purdue asked, pointing to the empty seat and obviously knowing the answer. He moved to take the vacant spot for himself, but one of August's massive arms got in Purdue’s path.

  “There is, actually,” August said.

  Purdue managed an uncomfortable chuckle. “Who?”

  August didn't answer. He just put his hand down on the seat beside him. He obviously wasn't looking for company. Purdue decided not to sit, as he didn't want to be throttled by one of August's giant arms. So Purdue stood over him, leaning down, but kept a safe enough distance to not be punched.

  “Just wanted to have a chat, aye? Just to make sure where everyone's head space was at before the actual search.”

  “My head space?” August growled, folding his arms. “My head space was in the middle of a very good dream before you showed up. What do you really want? Come to check on me? Make a deal where you and I can work together without any problems, is that it?”

  “Is that too much to ask?” Purdue questioned with another nervous laugh. “I'm sure I'm not your favorite person. Did you like the way things were running before...or are some of the changes I've made working out for you...?”

  “I was very content, is that what you want to hear? You're scared of me, aren't you?” August glanced past him at the others in their seats, all doing their best to rest on the plane. “They all are. You're all scared of what I'll do. You think I'll blow this whole plane up with you all aboard? Or maybe you think I'll murder you all in your sleep, is that right? I'll tear all of your heads off with my bear hands and then bring them to Julian on a plate before I let him out?”

  August wasn't exactly wrong. They all worried that August's loyalty to the old way the Black Sun did things would outweigh how helpful he’d be now to the team.

  “You all think just because I was part of Julian's order that I'm like him? You do realize that there were a whole lot of people in the order that couldn't stand that guy, right? He was crazy. Everyone knew it. Just no one had the balls to do anything about it. Everyone just kept their head low and wanted to wait for things to blow over. If I wanted to kill you, Purdue, I would’ve knocked your head clean off your shoulders the second you came into the compound.”

  That was a relief to hear—at least the part about not wanting to kill him and thinking Julian was crazy. Purdue could have done without the mental image of having his skull decapitated by one of August's massive hands.

  “Did I hurt people for the Black Sun? Yes. That was my job and I had quite a bit of fun doing it, but I had limits. Julian Corvus never did. Do I wish that you’d allow us to be a bit more forceful with our missions? Of course, but I get it. You don't like spilling blood, getting your hands dirty. I get that...but sometimes that's the most effective way to get things done.”

  “Not in this order. Not anymore.”

  “I know,” August let out a deep chuckle. “But you might have to, at some point, so it's a good thing you brought me along. If it comes down to it, and we need to do something that you don't have the stomach for, I'll get it done. That might make this whole trip worth it, really...but if you and the others are scared I'
m going to stab you in the back...don't be.”

  Another relief to hear.

  “If I was going to turn on you, Purdue, I wouldn't stab you in the back. I'd look you right in the eyes before I snuffed you out bluntly. I’d give you that much respect before the end.”

  That wasn't exactly reassuring anymore, but Purdue would take what he could get from August. At least if August would only come at him from the front, then it would give Purdue ample enough time to at least try to be able to defend himself.

  “Why did you join the Black Sun, might I ask? You're obviously not all that passionate about the history or the artifacts. Was it just because Julian offered you a chance to crack those knuckles, aye?”

  “It was in a way, yes,” August admitted, cracking his knuckles for emphasis. “He offered I’d get to travel the world, see some of the most amazing things that Earth had to offer, and every so often I’d get to beat someone bloody. Sounded like a good time to me. Far better than my previous jobs. Bouncing people from clubs got tiring. Working security got tiring. It was all just...”

  “Tiring?”

  “Tiring, yes. There was nothing more to any of them. Just simple muscle work. At least with the Order of the Black Sun, there was something bigger happening. I wasn't just getting tough with people for the sake of it anymore. It meant something.”

  Purdue understood that. Everyone wanted to have a real purpose. Members want their actions to actually be contributing to something. Even a big, tough guy like August needed to feel like he belonged to something larger than himself. Hopefully, that was enough still, even though August was now going to be dialing back his chances of brutality.

  “Be honest with me now...what do the rest of the old Black Sun guard have to say about me being in charge here?”

  August shifted his big body uncomfortably. “They aren't exactly fans.”

  Purdue laughed. “And that's not exactly a surprise. Think any of them would betray me if given the chance?”

  “Probably.”

  “Brilliant...and what about you?”

  “I don't think so... only if I got bored.”

  “Thanks for the reassurance, big guy.”

  Purdue got up and returned to his original seat, happy that his talk with August had gone better than expected. Part of Purdue was fully prepared for a hulking figure like August to get mad and try to take it out on Purdue. Luckily, August proved to be much more reasonable than Purdue ever expected him to be.

  Riley suddenly hopped into the seat behind him, smiling, and chewing bubble gum. She always had so much bubbly energy and was always fascinated by just about everything. It must have been amazing to see the world through her eyes. Life must have seemed so much less serious and bleak, and so much brighter. She was like a little girl trapped inside the body of a young woman, but her childish quirks didn't take away from just how intelligent she was. All of her test scores that Purdue was able to acquire had impressed him, and she’d already astounded him with some of her more outlandish theories about world events.

  Riley was something of a conspiracy buff, and she was very proud of it. She loved talking about aliens, Sasquatch, and all manner of tall tales that most people disregarded. The only time he didn't see Riley smiling was when she was trying her hardest to prove to someone that those conspiracies had actual factual evidence behind them. She could go on for hours about the Abominable Snowman or creatures of that nature. Even the little things, like tissues being designed to make someone sneeze more or telephones all being tapped by every government in the world, her tales were both fascinating and ridiculous.“How are things?” she asked him, popping a big pink bubble.

  “Things are going more smoothly than I was thinking they’d go. So aye, that's a good thing. You might not have even noticed it given how new you are, but there’s some animosity between some of our members...with each other and with me.”

  “Oh, I noticed,” Riley said happily. “I've heard all kinds of things. Yeah, some people really, really don't like you. But it's just like my mom used to say: you can't please everyone. People are going to hate you for no reason. People are going to love you when you don't deserve it. People like what they like, love what they love, and hate was they deem is terrible...”

  That was another thing Purdue liked about Riley Duda. She wasn't just hilarious, fun to talk to, or interesting because of her conspiracies. She was young but so incredibly wise for her age. Sometimes, he’d forget that in times like this, so it was nice to be reminded that she was someone that shouldn't be judged based on her looks alone.

  “That's good advice,” Purdue admitted. “I'm not sure if I can follow it to the letter in most situations, but I like the sentiment.”

  “So what's your favorite relic you ever found?”

  The question came out of absolute nowhere, so Purdue was caught off guard. However, he really should’ve expected something like that coming from Riley. One second she's as wise as an owl, then the next second she's asking questions that five year old children liked to ask. She was a paradox.

  Still, it was a decent question since he felt stumped by it. “I suppose I really liked Excalibur. It's just such a beautiful sword.”

  For the rest of the flight, those kinds of questions kept being thrown at him in a barrage that he could barely even manage:

  Who is your favorite person you ever worked with? What’s the best place you ever visited anywhere in the world? What did you want to grow up to be when you were a kid? Where do you see yourself in five years? What was the longest lasting romantic relationship you ever had? What season is your favorite? Which member of the old Order of the Black Sun did you hate the most? Which member of the new Order of the Black Sun do you like the most? Which number is strongest?

  The line of questions went on and on, and there was no stopping it. He answered each one as best as he could. Then, the questions transitioned from mildly interesting and relevant to his life, to absolute theoretical garbage, but it was still entertaining enough. He both loved and hated this game. He adored that it was passing the time in the air, but he despised that he had to get very personal with some of the questions

  He tried to slip in some questions of his own to give to her. After all, he was still trying his best to get to know her on a personal level. It was only fair that she had to undergo this trial just like he did.

  Unfortunately he quickly realized that he already knew most of her answers, as his recruitment process had a pretty extensive vetting process. His questions for her didn't last long anyway, as she’d turn them around back on him.

  After dozens upon dozens of hypothetical questions from Riley, he saw the lights above the seats let the passengers know to buckle up as the flight was going to start into a descent.

  The plane landed in Mongolia; and as everyone disembarked, Purdue scanned at all of his teammates with some hope. He was among some incredibly talented individuals who shared his enthusiasm for the work. August was an exception, but Purdue just kept hoping that the behemoth would shock all of them. All Purdue could do was keep wishing that August wouldn't do anything that would stab them all in the back.

  Regardless of what was about to happen, this was the new united Order of the Black Sun's trial by fire.

  6

  THE GRUDGES THAT NEVER HEAL

  Galen Fitzgerald was working on his next autobiography, the sequel to his original book: Guns, Glaives, and Guinness: The Many Adventures of Galen Fitzgerald” He’d carefully chronicle all of his journeys since his first book; there were many exciting ones to recall. He’d been through quite a lot in recent days, mostly revolving around that bastard David Purdue and his battles with the Order of the Black Sun. Galen had even joined that secret society, hoping to forge strong allies of his own to bring down Davy and make a name for himself. Yet as usual, David Purdue liked making his life difficult and refused to go down. From what Galen had heard, Davy had even become the Black Sun's new leader somehow. That was a disgusting thought. Galen alm
ost felt like throwing up any time he even considered it.

  That son of a bitch, Davy Purdue just had to have everything, didn't he? It was just take, take, take, and more take with a man like that. But Galen wouldn't let Purdue have it all. Galen had made sure of that by taking the artifact that they originally fought over—the Spear of Destiny. Galen had absconded with that holy spear when had the chance. He may have lost his membership with the Order of the Black Sun, but Galen didn't leave completely empty-handed.

  Now Galen just had to figure out what he was going to do next, and working on what would assuredly be another good book was an effective use of time until he discovered it.

  Part of him was glad that the Black Sun had fallen and been reorganized. He’d planned to work his way up and then make some changes of his own. It was just frustrating that it was Davy who had taken that away from him. Purdue and his new order hadn't come for the Spear of Destiny yet, but he was sure that they would. Davy couldn't let Galen have it. Davy’s ego wouldn't stand for it, despite the fact that Galen was the one who told Purdue about the spear in the first place—something he conveniently seemed to be forgotten. The holy lance was rightfully Galen’s!

  Oniel walked into the room as quietly as ever and sat across from Galen silently, though Oniel’s gaze made it obvious there was something important on his mind. He couldn't verbally express it, given that his tongue had been ripped out by a former boss, back when Oniel was one of the deadliest men in Jamaica. He and Galen had become close allies during their brief stint with the Order of the Black Sun, having a shared dislike for David Purdue. Even after fleeing the order, the pair remained aligned and both hoped that they’d be the ones to finally kill Purdue once and for all.

  Oniel was a tall and lanky individual. Even sitting, Oniel seemed to tower over Galen. Oniel had those blank eyes that were impossible to see any real emotion in besides contempt. They were terrifying to most people, but Galen knew that those murderous leers weren't meant for him.