Into Eden: Pangaea - Book 1 Read Online Free Page B

you hear me?”
    The old giant nodded slowly.
    “Don’t be afraid, Dad,” Jesse began, unaware that tears were running down his cheeks, “you’ll be fine. By the gods, I know that you will.”
    Nashon shook his head slowly, and motioned with a weak finger for Jesse to come closer. Jesse leaned in to hear Nashon’s whisper. “There are no, ‘gods’ Jesse. There is just one God. I know that now.”
    “But Father,” Jesse began, but Nashon silenced him with a soft, “Sssssh.”
    Jesse stood up. He didn’t know what to make of his father’s comment. Nashon had never been a religious man, and Jesse rarely heard him reference deities unless he had injured himself painfully or Josiah had really, really, gotten under his skin. Jesse said no more concluding that in his final hours Nashon’s reasoning ability had started to slip away. What a terrible shame, he thought. His father had been so powerful in life, both in his physical strength and with a mind as keen as a philosopher. Now, in the end, he lay on a bed immobile with even his mental capacities starting to slip away. The gods were not fair.
    Suddenly the attention of those in the room was stolen by a commotion from downstairs. There were sounds of women screaming and men shouting. Josiah reached for the door.

     
    As the carriage and the horses from Albion rode out of sight Anubis urged his horses forward. Whoever they were, he thought, they are gone. Time to get moving. He leaned over toward the man in the hood, “From here on in you’re leading the way.”
    “Yessir,” he replied. “Just turn left on the road that the carriage and horses took. It’ll take you right there.”
    “And one more thing,” Anubis continued, “when you see the lights of the house let me know.”
    The procession moved on through the night with the chariot leading the way. When they had ridden about three miles they turned a bend and the hooded man leaned over to Anubis, “That’s it!” he said to Anubis excitedly. “Straight up ahead!” Beyond them, only a hundred paces or so lay Nashon’s estate. Anubis brought his chariot to a halt.
    “Prepare for battle!” Anubis ordered. Behind him there was the clucking sound of crossbows being ratcheted, and metallic “clicks” of helmet visors being pulled down. Anubis lowered his visor slowly—only unlike the others—he never readied his crossbow. He wanted to keep his killing personal. With a flip of the reins they were on the move again.

     
    Jesse, Abijah, and the doctor had been in the house about ten minutes now, and Asa was starting to wonder whether he should wait at the gate a little longer, or turn in for the evening. How long would the doctor be staying? Would Nashon be receiving other guests at this late hour? Josiah had given him no instructions and he was just supposed to figure it out on his own. He was nothing like his father, he thought. Nashon would have left clear, step by step instructions of what he expected, and then had him repeat them back to him. No, Josiah was no Nashon. He sat down on an old beer keg that he had brought outside to rest his legs and reached into his pocket for a small paper, then into his pouch for some tobacco. Well, Jesse and Abijah had their vices, and he had his own. It was an expensive habit, too, for tobacco—like silk—had to be smuggled in from Eden. At least, he thought—unlike alcohol—tobacco was a harmless vice. As he sat there rolling the cigarette he looked down the road toward town. In the moonlight he could see an approaching chariot followed by several horsemen, just rounding the bend. The only one around that still drove a chariot was Hezron—it had to be him. But who was following after? He sat the cigarette aside and his old eyes squinted to identify the forms. Yes, that was Hezron, all right, and followed by legionnaires. He could tell by the winged helmets that they were wearing.
    Asa walked over and removed the bolt from its place to let Hezron and his