by Ken Hansen
The man with the black hair and beard bellowed out a laugh in Tomadus’s face. Then he smiled and raised one eyebrow as he turned and showed the contents of his right hand—a scroll that unraveled to the floor. The scroll depicted many tiny identical black dots repeating in equidistant spaces in increasingly longer rows to form the shape of a perfect equilateral triangle. Below the triangle, “T36” was written in the style of the math techs. It looked like each of the three perimeter “lines” of the triangle contained about 36 dots. The bearded man’s eyes narrowed and he flung the parchment into the air, where flames immediately consumed it. The man roared again with laughter. Tomadus lunged and tried to grab him with both hands, but he simply disappeared, his laughter still echoing in Tomadus’s ears.
When Tomadus’s eyes opened, he quickly squinted them shut, opened them extra wide again, and then repeated the procedure several times until the afterglow of the dream faded, but he knew the strange vision would never completely dissipate from his memory. That man with the black beard, he was familiar. Huxley knew him, didn’t he? Somehow, he looked different than in the other visions, like another he knew. I must be obsessing about the First Consul. He too invades my thoughts.
Leaning back in his chair on the aeronavis, he saw the vast blue ocean shimmering in the moonlight a few thousand feet below, its waves seemingly beckoning him home. He felt the aeronavis begin to descend again. When he looked ahead, he could just see another floating seadrome many milia passuum in the distance. This would be the third and last stop between the continents, where all fifteen passengers would disembark and eat a meal while the aeronavis refueled. The things took some getting used to with their landing decks some 70 cubitus above the water. Their huge columns looked like they must reach to the ocean floor, but that was impossible. Instead, they led to buoyancy chambers near the surface with huge ballast chambers far below to keep them stable. The whole unit was attached loosely to a floating buoy system that linked it to a massive concrete mushroom anchor submerged below with two long steel cables. The thing had its own power plant and could use propellers to maneuver slightly while anchored. It was the only way the aeronavis could fly over the Atlantic between the Three Empires and North Aztalan. Yet another example of the genius of the Romanus technologists.
Tomadus heard the deep breathing of Yohanan sleeping next to him, his head tipped back as far as the seat would allow. Does this friend of mine hold the key? Together, maybe we can stop the dominoes of hatred before it damns Tetepe for another fifty years. After he had thought this, the creature within again crawled out of the depths of his gut and began to howl. Tomadus shook his head. Why now? I seek peace but find only despair. I am doing the best I can. What do you want of me?
Chapter 58
Yohanan sighed and looked away, rubbing the back of his neck. Could he trust Tomadus’s judgment here? He knew little about this First Consul, but Tomadus was right. Without his help, there was no way to get to Jerusalem, to Decima. And he must make the attempt.
If her plan failed on foreign soil, she would face disaster without any friends nearby to save her. Raanan’s gang could not be resting their fate with Jerusalem’s Jews, whose leaders had long been co-opted by the Sunni Muslim Empire in exchange for some modicum of freedom to practice their religion. Was something else going on here? And how did they even get into the country? They too were closely associated with the Demoseps. Even Decima’s Romanus citizenship would not get her all the way to Jerusalem with the intel the empire undoubtedly possessed of her ties to the Demoseps.
“The First Consul will see you now,” the assistant told them.
He saw Tomadus smiling with confidence. Yohanan followed him into the office of the First Consul. Clearly, Khansensius had more real power than Skjöldr, but the trappings of his office paled in comparison to Asgard Palace. The accouterments seemed to suggest he was just a simple background figure providing helpful services to the Three Emperors upon their summons. He played that role well. Yohanan saw Tomadus and the First Consul exchange warm greetings, smiles all around, and he relaxed a few notches. Tomadus must know what he is doing. I must trust him.
Tomadus gestured toward Yohanan. “First Consul, this is my friend, an agent of peace, Yohanan, from Tetepe.”
“I have heard much about you, sir. Welcome.” The First Consul turned toward Yohanan with a slight bow, his right hand raised to his chest.
Yohanan returned the bow, but more deeply. “Gratias, your Excellency, and I have heard nothing but good about you from Tomadus.”
The First Consul turned back to Tomadus. “Tomadus, I take it from your friend’s presence here that your meeting with King Skjöldr went well.”
“Not entirely. It was a start, but a small one. I fear something catastrophic must happen before Skjöldr sees any value in taking real steps toward reconciliation. But he did see the value of releasing Yohanan to allow him to preach peace to his people.”
“I see,” said the First Consul. “Yohanan, you seem to have found a Romanus merchant as your sponsor. I congratulate you.”
Yohanan was about to reply, but Tomadus threw him a glance. “No, Your Excellency, I am not his sponsor, and he requires no such thing. I merely seek a peaceful end so we can make business inroads in Tetepe and perhaps stabilize a difficult part of the world in the process. Yohanan has had certain…experiences…that have given him the ability to appreciate the need for a peaceful resolution. In that regard, he may be critical to our success there.”
“Our success?”
“Why yes, you do agree that peace in Tetepe would be to the advantage of Roma and the Three Empires, do you not?”
The First Consul stroked his chin. “Of course, on appropriate terms.”
“Well, Yohanan and I are here today to ask for your help in achieving that goal.”
“How could I do that?”
Tomadus said, “We require a Letter of Transit to permit Yohanan to travel to Jerusalem.”
The First Consul stiffened and crossed his arms. “For what purpose?”
Yohanan watched Tomadus look at him and then back at the First Consul. Would Tomadus break his word and tell the First Consul the whole story?
Tomadus spoke slowly, “I am sorry, but I believe it would be best if we do not go into details. Please, trust me that Yohanan is on a mission of peace.”
The First Consul tightened his lips. “Tomadus, you and I have developed an excellent relationship, and I do trust your judgment in a great many things. However, you are asking me to give written orders that permit a man known to associate with shaitaanists to travel to one of the most holy cities of the Sunni Muslim Empire. Will you next ask me to allow him to travel to Mecca? No, I must know the reason.”
Tomadus looked again at Yohanan, and Yohanan responded with a look of terror. Would Tomadus reveal Decima’s involvement with the Demoseps? His friends would be arrested and executed in Jerusalem. Yohanan took the initiative, “I must visit a friend from Roma who is travelling there. It is critical that she return to Tetepe to help in my campaign. Without her, we will be lost.”
“What is her name?”
“Decima, the daughter of Quintillus.”
The First Consul raised his hand to his chin and stroked his beard a few times. “She too has associated with shaitaanists. This does not give me great comfort.”
“I know I can convince her to join our peace movement. I just need to speak with her alone.”
The First Consul raised his arms to his chest and placed his palms together with the tips of his fingers bouncing on his lips. When he spoke, he employed a greater tone of officialdom than he had previously revealed to Yohanan, “Tomadus, will you vouch for the importance of this mission?”
“Excellency, I can tell you that the success of his mission may be the only thing that will allow peace to return to Tetepe for many years.”
“Then I will grant you the Letter of Transit, on one condition. I will contact authorities in Jerusalem and ask them to keep
an eye on your activities there. They will report directly to me. I must protect myself from recrimination if your mission should fail.”
“As you wish,” Yohanan agreed. “I will do nothing to give you pause.”
“See that you don’t.”
A few minutes later, Yohanan and Tomadus were walking in the shadow of the Colosseum back toward their hotel, the Letter of Transit in hand. “When will you leave?” asked Tomadus.
“The earliest aeronavis to Palestine is tomorrow afternoon,” Yohanan said.
“Will you have dinner with me tonight before we part?”
“I’ll have to pass. I’m visiting Jochi, my sister. You remember her from your visit to Tetepe?”
Tomadus grinned. “How could I forget? I felt as though I had already known her.”
Yohanan looked hard at Tomadus. After an uncomfortable moment of silence, Yohanan said, “Anyway, why don’t you travel with me to Jerusalem? You might help me find Decima.”
Tomadus shook his head. “I would be of no help there, I am afraid. I will find Isa and seek his assistance.”
“When you see Isa, tell him that I follow the rising of the sun, so I sail to Jerusalem.”
Chapter 59
Yohanan had guessed right. Ahead of him walked the Fox tugging at his heart with all her beauty and all her cunning. He had anticipated the Demoseps would spend a few days reconnoitering the site of Hugleikr’s planned speech later that week. The visi-scan had invited those interested to assemble below the eastern stairs leading up to the Dome of the Rock. A few hundred feet to the left of the stairs, Yohanan had found a quiet corner behind some trees that still allowed him a decent vantage point. Sure enough, several hours later Decima and Raanan strolled not more than fifty feet from the base of the stairs.
The shrine had been built on the Temple Mount, where the first and second Jewish Temples had stood until destroyed by the Babylonians and the Romani. It was the site where many Muslims believed Muhammad had ascended into Heaven with the angel Gabriel to speak to God and receive instructions on the details of prayer. The stairs leading up to the shrine provided the perfect spot for Hugleikr to restate, for the entire world to see, the devotion of his people to Islam. It was a spot that the Demosep leader, Raanan, with his weakness for dramatic irony, would likely pick to end Hugleikr’s life.
For over an hour, Yohanan followed Decima from a distance as she walked through Jerusalem. He wanted to speak with her alone, away from the influence of Raanan the Snake. After the two animals parted, the Fox entered a small café alone.
Her eyes bulged as he approached and took a seat at her table. “What are you doing here?” she said, her eyes glaring back at him.
“Rescuing the Fox from the Snake.”
“What?”
“I know what you, Raanan and the others are up to here. If I have figured it out, don’t you think the authorities have also?”
She looked around. “I don’t know what you mean. I have always wanted to visit this holy city. Raanan and some other friends chose to join me.” She looked straight into his eyes, yet if he had been ignorant of the truth, he could not have known she was lying, except for that one nervous tic: she was gently tapping Quintillus’s master merchant’s ring against her ceramic cup with her right hand. The triad of red, white and blue jewels glimmered with every bounce.
Yohanan broke the silence, “Do you think it may seem a bit too convenient that you are visiting Jerusalem at the same time that the Vice Regent of New Jutland is making a major speech at the Dome of the Rock?”
The Fox’s face lost some of its color, but she said nothing.
Yohanan leaned his chest over the table. “Look, Decima, it’s me. Stop the pretense. You have to know this is madness. It is just another one of Raanan’s misguided schemes to show the world that the Demoseps can strike their enemies anywhere. It will end in disaster for you and for our people.”
She sat back. “I am quite willing to die to avenge my father’s death. Are you willing to die for your own beliefs, whatever they are?”
Yohanan looked down at his hands. “Why did you join the movement in the first place?”
“For the same reason you did, to end the domination of the Juteslams and preserve what little democracy remains in Tetepe. Democracy holds the best hope for women like me. The best hope for us all. It may be too late for me but not for those who follow.”
“So why are you trying to destroy that democracy forever?”
She shook her head, leaned in, and whispered, “I plan to kill a tyrant who is an enemy of democracy.”
“But don’t you see the consequences of this plan? What good will it do even if you are successful? It will force Skjöldr to crack down on Tetepe even more. In the end, I fear our way of life, our democracy, will burn to ashes in the firestorm you ignite. Is that what you want?”
Decima sneered at him. “All people who have felt the sting of tyranny will applaud our actions. The world will have to face the depth of our convictions to gain freedom and preserve democracy. Anyway, he deserves to die at our hands.”
“Can you condemn him to death by yourself? Are you the judge of his sins against God?”
“God?” she said sarcastically. “God no. I care not about the sins of this man against any mythical creature. But I am quite comfortable being the judge of his sins against mankind.”
Yohanan grabbed her hands and said softly, “I once believed that myself, but I have found the answer lies in love, not hate.”
Decima pulled her hands away from his. “More of your peace and love crap. I can’t listen to that garbage, not now, not even from you.”
“Then listen to this. Tomadus has begun a dialogue with Skjöldr to find an honorable peace. We think such a peace might be possible, though it could still take some time. But if you and Raanan carry out your intentions here, Hugleikr dies a martyr to his cause. A hero. Skjöldr will use his death to crush our democracy. You must stop this and allow us to do our work.”
“I’m sorry, Yoh, but I will not suffer a fool’s feckless folly. I once thought you brilliant and insightful. Skjöldr will never of his own initiative allow Tetepians to live in peace. We must force his hand. This is the only way.”
Yohanan frowned and shook his head. “There are powers far greater than Skjöldr. Tomadus has the First Consul’s backing. There is a real chance, but even that will fade if you do this. It is your way that condemns us to death.”
“And your way condemns your people to chains and my father’s name to oblivion. I will not rest until his killer dies a horrible death.” She slammed down her cup, stood up and walked out of the café.
Yohanan sat in the café for another hour, seemingly alone, never noticing the man at the next table who had followed him into the cafe. He had loved her once. How much he could still love her if she could just overcome the hatred now consuming her. He kept shaking his head and resting his forehead on his fingertips, eyes closed. There has to be some other way to stop the carnage and save her from herself, some way to abort the assassination.
Chapter 60
The sun’s rays bounced harmlessly off the golden cupola of the Dome of the Rock as Yohanan cut through the crowd of several hundred who had decided to watch Hugleikr give his speech. The introduction by a local imam had already begun at the top of the stairs as Yohanan scanned the crowd for Decima and her Demosep cohorts. He found Dekanawida lurking near the back of the crowd, with a hood around his head and sunglasses hiding most of his face from security. Raanan the Snake was similarly dressed to avoid detection and was walking behind the crowd off of the Temple Mount, just far enough away to make a quick exit, just like a snake through a hole in the wall.
The crowd applauded the end of the introduction, and Hugleikr began his speech: “Thank you all for your kind reception before this great monument. This ancient city reminds me of the battles this great empire has had over the years to keep the holy land safe from those who would turn it to dust. You have all enjoyed saf
ety and security for the past fifty years, but we, the Juteslams, continue to fight against the barbarians of Tetepe, who wish to undermine our Islamic way of life…”
Yohanan shook his head almost reflexively in disgust as he scanned the crowd. Nearly all were Arab men acknowledging Hugleikr’s words. A few children sat on their fathers’ shoulders. Guards patrolled through the crowd while two stood just in front of a three-cubit high temporary chain barrier securing the stairwell up to Hugleikr. An obviously pregnant Muslim woman, face hidden in a burka, hands in pockets, stood motionless behind the barrier. It seemed unlikely that a devout Muslim woman would be standing in this mixed crowd.
Yohanan began searching the natural stage at the top of the short stairs leading up from the pregnant woman. Hugleikr was employing his typically exaggerated gestures, just like he was in a much larger square in New Jutland. Yohanan searched for a likely bomb location. There was no temporary stage since they were just using the top of the short stairs for the speech. The microphone stand? It seemed too narrow to house a fatal bomb. How about one of the other dignitaries at the top of the stairs? All anti-Demosep types. Where else? Maybe they had planned some kind of rifle shot instead. He began scanning the trees to see if security had missed someone perched above.
He heard a gasp from the crowd and looked down toward the barrier, where the crowd had now parted slightly. Security personnel were making their way to the pregnant woman in the burka, who had apparently succumbed from the heat of the sun and was now lying on her side next to the barrier. Hugleikr paused his speech and asked security to bring the woman up the stairs, so she could rest in the shade near the inner wall.
With the assistance of the men in security uniforms, the woman stood up slowly and was beginning to be led around the barrier. As she passed the barrier, her right hand swung free, for the first time revealing the ring on her finger: large and platinum, with three stones in a red, white and blue triangle. Yohanan could feel the adrenaline rush through his body as his brain connected the picture.