Light (15 page)

He had already seen for himself the Lord’s
power at the synagogue but then he had been in possession of seven stones. 
There was only one way to find out.

‘Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai
Echad.’

And, again, Jake could feel something flow
into him.  An energy, a force that came from somewhere else, and Jake felt
strong.  He looked at the crystal.

‘Where is Cherry?’

The light began to pulse and throb and
gently vanished altogether.  Well, either it had lost all its potency or it was
trying to tell him something.

Jake changed direction.  Turning to the
right.  Nothing.  He turned to the left and the glow began again.  So, this was
it.  He really was being guided on his way.

So, passing some of the most spectacular
vistas of greens and browns that he could imagine, Jake continued his journey.

……………………………………

‘Well,’ tried Cherry in an attempt to
lighten the mood after they had been travelling for about a half hour, ‘How
come you knew Lapski?’

‘You really want to know?’

At least he was replying.

‘I wouldn’t be asking if I didn’t.  Tell
me.  I’m curious.’

‘Okay.  We met last year.  I was planning
on a series of stories about unusual religious groups and heard about him on
the grape-vine.  At first I thought he was crazy with his talk of biblical
powers and other worlds but he gave me evidence that proved the truth of what
he was saying...’

‘Evidence?  What evidence?’

‘The crystals and...’

‘And what?’

‘Call it magic, okay.’

Why did she feel he was hiding something? 
But Cherry decided to let it go.

‘So, he convinced you that there are other
worlds.  Did he tell you anything about them?’

‘Sort of.  He said that they co-exist with
our Earth and that they contain all sorts of mythical beasts but beyond that I
don’t know very much.’

‘So that’s where we are.  On another
world.’

‘I think so.’

‘But you don’t know?’

‘No.  But where else can we be?’

Cherry looked about herself.  She had
never seen such vibrant colours in her life.  The grass beneath her feet was so
fine and richly hued that it seemed as if each separate blade had been
carefully painted by a master.  Even the sky above seemed alive and fresh like
the brightest summer’s day possible with clouds like candyfloss dancing in the
breeze.  As an artist herself she could well appreciate that these tones were
idealised and unachievable in the real world.  It had to be true.  This was not
the Earth she knew.  And, if that was the case, she had to find out where they
were.

At the moment, as awful as it was, Mitch
was her only ally.  They would have to make peace.

‘Mitch.  Why don’t you put the gun away?’

‘You won’t try anything?’

‘What would be the point?  If you’re right
and we’re on another world there’s nowhere for me to go is there?  Look, all
we’ve seen so far is grassland.  I can’t escape.’

‘Okay, but I warn you.  If you try...’

‘Don’t be ridiculous.  What will I try?’

Mitch reached around for the waist band of
his trousers and tucked in the pistol.  Cherry wondered how easily Mitch could
be provoked into using the thing and immediately regretted the thought.

Notwithstanding the lushness of the
vegetation they had seen no sign at all of animal life and, despite what Mitch
had told her, Cherry seriously doubted whether this world was inhabited.  It
seemed that they would be stuck here without any outside help and, without
that, they had hardly any chance of returning home.

Then came a new problem that only
increased her fears.  The sun was getting lower in the sky and it became clear
that they would have to find shelter if they were not to spend the night out in
the open.  Cherry did not know the first thing about the weather here.  As warm
as the daytime was, the night could still be deadly and so far they had seen
nowhere that could make them a sanctuary.

It was then they saw the first faint wisps
of grey smoke in the far distance.

‘A fire.  Look.’

‘Wait.  They could be hostile.’

‘But...?’

‘No.  I’ll check this out.  Wait here.’

Cherry was about to argue but thought
better of it.  There was no point in antagonising him now that they had
achieved an uneasy truce.

She obeyed the instruction until Mitch was
out of sight and then followed him at a discreet distance.  The first thing
they reached was a sparse woodland of tall trees.  At first glance they
appeared like the familiar oaks and elms that she knew from home but it was
only up close that she could see that their varieties were quite alien but not
in any way that could be said to be unsettling.  Their leaves were large but
not too large, their colour almost crystalline, but that was not the strangest
thing about them.  Cherry had seen in London trees that dwarfed ten storey
buildings; some of the specimens before her now made even those seem minuscule
by comparison.

With a sense of delight and wonder Cherry
carefully picked her way through the bracken, trying her best not to make any
noise that would alert Mitch to her presence and then she saw someone.  He was
alone, waiting for her in a small clearing.  What was that he was wearing?  A
hood fixed to the side of his head in a peculiar way.  It was only when Cherry
came closer that she realised that she had been mistaken.  There was a cowl but
it was concealing a second head that was smiling at her through a thick beard
in a way that removed all apprehension.  How wonderful.

She looked at the strange creature and
noticed for the first time his dress.  In style it reminded her of nothing
other than the garb Topol wore in the Fiddler on the Roof movie complete with
those strings that orthodox Jews had hanging out from their garments.

‘Hello,’ she tried hesitantly.

‘Hello,’ said the left-hand head without
any trace of an accent whatever, ‘We don’t see many strangers round here...’

‘What about the fellow who just passed?’
interrupted the second head.

‘I was just about to mention him...’

‘No you weren’t.  You were going to quite
ignore the subject and court this attractive...’

‘Do you mind?  I was not.  Just because
that was what you wanted to do is no reason to impute such motives to me.’

‘Gentlemen, please,’ Cherry shouted in
exasperation, ‘Only one of you talk.  Then we’ll get along easier.’

‘Oh that’s a very good idea, isn’t it?’

‘No it isn’t.  You’ll get all the best
lines that way.’

It was just like listening to Tweedledum
and Tweedledee and like Alice before her Cherry felt thoroughly exasperated.

‘Stop it, both of you.  I will speak first
and direct myself to which of you I want.  Only that head should reply.  If the
other head wishes to speak you will raise your hand.  All right?’

‘Yes.’

‘No.’

Cherry looked at the contrary one in a way
that could only have one meaning.

‘All right?’

‘Yes.’

‘Good.  Now, my name is Cherry Linford,
who are you?’

‘I am called Faivish...’

‘And I’m Daivish...’

‘Pleased to meet you Faivish and Daivish. 
Now, Faivish, tell me.  What is this place?’

‘This is called Tevel, the second Earth.’

‘You know of my world then?’

‘Of course.  We often see into the Heled
and there have always been visitors.’

‘Visitors?’

‘Travellers searching for the secret
meaning of things.  Is that not why you are here?’

‘No.  I have come accidentally.  I was
brought by the man you saw.’

‘Ah, I see.  You had better come with us. 
Maybe the Rabbi will know how to send you home.’

Cherry could hardly believe it.  Here she
was on another world talking to a two-headed ultra-orthodox Jew who wanted to
take her to see his Rabbi.  Somehow, after the horror she had seen at the
synagogue, all this seemed a comical anti-climax.  Maybe things would be all
right after all.

It was only as they neared the village
that she realised that she had been premature in her surmise.  A sharp crack
that could only be one thing followed by a piteous scream told her the worst. 
Mitch had arrived ahead of her and he had used his gun.  How could he have hurt
these loveable people?

And then came the sound she had almost
forgotten.  Like an explosion came the hideous roar of the creature that she
had heard as she had first swum ashore.  Whatever it was, it was within the
village and it was to the village that she was headed.

The stone had been glowing steadily for
the past two hours and still Jake had not encountered any other inhabitants of
this unspoilt and beautiful world.  Somehow he did not feel in the slightest bit
alone even when night drew near.  The air around him seemed to tingle with the
magic of the place and he found himself filled with a calm certainty that
everything that he could do would turn out right in the end.  Soon he would
locate Cherry and then he would find the stones.  With them in his possession
he would return to his home and everything would be back to normal.

And then Jake became overcome with the
strangest feeling.  His gut seemed to twist and turn and the acrid taste of
bile filled his throat.  He had to stop and clutch his stomach to hold back the
sudden nausea and then he looked at his ring.  It was at that moment when the
physical sensations became echoed by a sense of unease.  The light of the ring
had departed.

Something had happened to destroy the
tranquillity of this world; of that he was certain.  Now he would have to find
out what it was, and soon, for it was already dusk.  Without the ring’s
comforting glow he did not relish the prospect of being alone when night
finally closed in on him.

Quickening his pace he continued.  He had
to ignore the increasing clamminess of his hands and the claustrophobic feel of
the encroaching gloom.  Everyone was relying on him and he was determined that
he would not fail them.  Ben Tiferet needed the crystals and Cherry needed to
be saved from that madman.  It was as if the whole world rested upon his
shoulders but it was a challenge that he accepted.  Already he had seen for
himself that he had access to a power of which previously he could only dream. 
Here in this other earth was where that power would prove itself.

He wished that he could see better, the
terrain was so unfamiliar.  He was alone here without help and, more
importantly, without knowledge.  Anything could be up ahead...waiting for him.

There was the beast of his dreams.  Was
that here?  It had absorbed something of Kevin when it killed him to give it a
semblance of life.  It had to know that Jake was here which meant that it could
well be waiting for him.

Or, maybe it was behind.

Jake turned his head.

Nothing...or...

What was that shadow?  Something moving
over there.

Jake stopped.  Whatever it was it had
ceased its motion.

No.  He shook his head.  If something
untoward had happened in this place, it was ahead of him.  That’s what his instincts
were telling him.  Intuition or something more?

And what of Mitch?  He carried a gun. 
What chance did Jake have against that?

He could be walking right into a trap.

But there was nothing he could do about
it.  He was a stranger here.  He was alone, unarmed.  If there was danger then
he would have to face it.  He braced himself and, resolute, defiant, continued.

And then, at last, guided by moonlight
alone (at least the moon looked the same) he found himself upon a large grassy
mound looking down upon a settlement of wooden hovels lit only by the ochre and
crimson flames of their interior fires and torches.  From this distance it
appeared quite picturesque so why did he feel uneasy?

Again that sensation.

Yes, this place contained the source of
his earlier nausea.

All was quiet, too quiet.  Even the gentle
hum and sounds of the denizens of the night of which he had barely been aware
were now quite noticeable but only for their absence.  No more the chirping of
crickets, the rustling of the wings of the twilight dwellers.  They knew that
in the village ahead one thing waited.  Death.

Something had happened here and, whatever
it was, it was not going to be pleasant.

Warily, Jake walked forward and approached
the village.

Come on.  Where was everyone?  There had
to be someone to greet him.  But no-one appeared.  Whatever had happened, it
could not have been long ago.  All the fires were still alight.  Were the
people still in their homes hiding from some terrible thing or had they already
succumbed to its attack?  If so, was it still here…waiting for him?

He shuddered as he remembered its maw from
his nightmares.  That was all that he could recall.  That open fanged
slobbering mouth.  The rest of the creature had been obscured by fog.  A huge
monstrous beast unformed and deadly and it was there, inside one of the houses,
he was certain of it.

Come on.  Keep your imagination under
control.

Jake entered the silent settlement and
encountered...only silence.  There was no-one alive.  This was nothing more
than a ghost town.

Jake reached a door.

It was there, inside.  Slashing, biting. 
Crouched ready to pounce.

He knocked.

Nothing.

He pushed it open and...

...was not attacked but it was clear that
he had been right all along.  The creature had been here.  The body that lay
across the floor had been ripped apart, its blood splattered everywhere.  No
human could have done this.  Not only was its stomach open to the world with
its entrails spread around in some perverse pattern but something had taken out
a chunk from its shoulder and neck.  That was strange; it was as if there had
been a growth severed by the attacker.

It was only when Jake scanned the floor
that he realised what it had been.  There, in the corner, was a human head.  It
was sitting there, supported upright, staring at Jake with unseeing eyes.  The
implication seemed clear.  Amazingly so.  The people of this place had two
heads; that was the only explanation possible.  It would be funny if not for
the terrible doom that had befallen this place.

Still cautious, he entered the next hut. 
Inside it was worse, far worse.  This had been the home of a family.  Adults
and children.  The assailant had done things to them that not even an animal
would do. 

The four bodies had been torn apart and
knotted as if to form a bloody pyramid of disjointed flesh, smeared with putrid
excrement, upon which two heads, one male and one female, had been locked
together in a parody of a loving kiss.

Amongst the tangle of human remains it
became almost impossible to tell one person from another.  Limbs were twisted
around limbs, intestines twisted around intestines, organs removed from their
places and draped around the monstrous structure in a way that only a warped
mind could have believed artistic.

The assailant had been toying with its
victims, playing with the corpses as if they were parts of some gruesome
construction kit. 

Eyes had been stolen from their sockets
and distributed throughout the mess to stare balefully in every direction.

The heart of one had been pulled from its
chest and, still attached to its arteries, had been thrust into the gaping
mouth of another as if it was feasting on the organ.

Sickened, Jake turned away but even with
his eyes shut he knew that this was an image that would forever haunt him.

Whatever had performed these atrocities
had been playing with the human remains as if it had been a curious child. 
Why?

And again Jake thought of the beast.  In
the Earth he knew it utilised illusion for its ends.  Here it had reality. 
Somehow Kevin had provided it with life energy and its hatred for everything
that in its view had no right to exist had caused it to carry out these
killings.  But why this childish playing?

Of course, that had to be the key.  It was
still just that; a child.  Until it gained the power of the twelve stones it
would remain a child without all of its adult faculties and, like a child, it
would have weaknesses.  If Jake could find and exploit those weaknesses then he
could destroy it.  Now that he had seen the devastation of the Beast in its
child form it became imperative to prevent it from becoming the adult.  Nothing
could withstand it then.

But what if it was still here waiting for
him?  It knew him.  It knew that Jake was its enemy but it needed him didn’t
it?  Like everyone else it needed him alive.  He was the one who could locate
the stones and bring to Earth God’s Light.  Only with that Light could the
Beast live.  So, maybe, he was worrying unnecessarily.  Or maybe not.  Maybe it
could capture and possess him in the same manner that it had poor Kevin.  No,
he could not relax his guard for an instant.

And then he heard a noise.

A sound of scraping as if a dead body had
been dragged across gravel and then a weak shuffling.

He had to find out what it was.  It was
getting closer, approaching the door.

Nearer, nearer, but what was it?  A sack
of coal, a corpse, or something worse.

There was a thud and then...silence.

Nothing.

Slowly, ready for anything, Jake opened
the door and saw it.  Lying on the ground, a bundle of rags.  No, a man was
wrapped up in them and he was still alive.  Feebly the man raised his thickly
bearded head and looked at Jake with haunted grey-green eyes.  These were eyes
that were full of a sorrow that seemed to be saying that they had seen things
that they were never meant to see.  The man’s other head just hung there
lifelessly.

Jake crouched down.  Could he do
anything?  Was he in time?  Did the man speak English?

It was no use worrying.  Now was the time
for action.

‘Hello,’ he whispered as he put out his hand
to offer support.

The man responded with a wry humourless
smile and placed his hand on Jake’s.  He nodded.

‘I’m a friend.  What happened here?’

‘It  ... c...ame,’ said the strange man,
taking a deep rasping breath between each word, ‘I...saw...it...leave. 
A...thing.  Hor...ri...ble.’

But Jake knew that already.  What he
wanted to know about was Cherry and Mitch.

‘I’m sorry, I know.  But did you see
anyone else?  Anyone like me?’

The man began to cough and Jake stopped
the interrogation.  It would have to wait.  Instead, he helped the fellow to
his feet.  That was when he saw the second head in all its glory.  There was a
hole drilled quite clearly through its temples.  Blood and small shards of bone
were quite visible but the wound itself had been cauterised.  This man had been
shot by a gun at point-blank range.  Jake did not bother to look for the exit
wound.  He had seen enough carnage for the moment.  There was no point seeing
more.  He was certain of one thing, though.  There was only one person of whom
he knew that had a gun; Mitch.

‘Come on.  Where do you live?’

The man nodded weakly and Jake supported
him as the fellow led the way to one of the hovels.

Inside, there was no sign of violence and
the room was sparsely furnished.  It was lit by wooden torches.  Jake helped
his companion to sit on a chair and did the same.

‘Is there any food here or drink.’

The man indicated a fancy ornately carved
dark wood cabinet that Jake momentarily supposed could have been a modern piece
of reproduction furniture.  Jake opened the doors and found a number of clear
stoppered bottles.  Even without labels it was obvious what they contained,
alcoholic beverages.  He poured two glasses of a pale brownish liquid and
passed one to his companion who gulped it down hurriedly after saying, to
Jake’s complete amazement, a quick
beracha
, the blessing an orthodox Jew
would say over a drink derived from grape.  As Jake sipped his he realised that
that was just what it was, a superior brandy, with a mellow honey taste.  If the
gods drank alcohol this surely was their nectar.

‘Another, please?’

Jake complied and waited for his companion
to speak again.

‘Thank you, thank you.’

‘Who are you?’

‘My name’s Faivish and this,’ he indicated
forlornly at his second head, ‘Was Daivish.’

The effort was too much and Faivish began
to cry.

Jake waited.  He could afford to.  Night
had fallen.  He was not going to get any further before morning.

‘So,’ he said at last when Faivish was
ready, ‘Tell me what happened.’

‘I, I was outside the shtetl
^[17]
with a girl
from your world.  We heard the thing attacking this place.  I didn’t see it. 
Just those screams, those terrible screams.  What was it?  A demon?’

Jake just shook his head and sighed in
sympathy.  He felt so inadequate to offer any real comfort.  What could he
possibly say that could make up for the wanton destruction of all who inhabited
this village?

‘And then, when it was over, we went in. 
Everyone was dead, everyone!’

Tears formed in his eyes.  The emotions
were just waiting to explode again.

Jake remained patient.  Faivish had been
through hell.  He would wait for him.

‘There was someone.  A man.  He had a
weapon of your world with him.  The girl, Miss Cherry, didn’t want to go with
him and I tried to stand between them.  He did, he did this to me.’

‘Bastard.

‘Do you know where they went?’

‘No.’

Faivish shook his head forlornly.

‘What am I to do?  Everyone I know is
dead.  Even the Rabbi.’

And then, apparently for the first time,
Faivish spied Jake’s ring.

‘That ring you wear.  It contains one of
the Holy Stones?’

‘Yes.’

‘Then, you are the one.’

And Faivish’s eyes seemed to come to life
with a brightness that was almost miraculous.

‘Please, help me.’

‘I don’t know how.’

‘Touch me with the stone.  Call upon
Hashem.  Here you can be heard.  Please.’

Jake could not ignore the plea.  Faivish
seemed so pitiful.  He did as he had been bidden.

Call upon God.  Well, he had managed that
before, maybe he could again.  He said the words of the Shema.

Nothing happened.

‘No.  Concentrate, please.’