Light (36 page)

Now the way was clear and they could enter
Adamah; the world peopled by the descendants of Cain.  This was a world visited
regularly by the host of Heaven and it was a world where the next crystal was
guarded in a temple by priests of God.

Would they trust a man who was a
self-confessed murderer?

It had happened just as Shmueli’s guardian
angel had said it would.  One of the guards had crept into the tiny bedroom
(giving Shmueli quite a start in the process) and had handed him a weapon.  The
man, even though he seemed to be sleep walking, had even managed to explain
that it was a Sig Sauer Model 225 automatic pistol fully loaded with its eight
rounds and had carefully shown him how to fire the thing.

‘There’s one round ready in the chamber. 
Just release the safety and squeeze.  Remember, hold it in both hands and keep
it steady,’ instructed the man from within the temporary trance imposed upon
him but, even now, Shmueli wondered whether he would be able to do it.

‘You will.  Have no fear.  I will be
awaiting you.’

‘Please, come with me.’

‘No, I cannot.  The Bent Ferret will
detect me.  You must do this alone.’

So, nervous as hell, Shmueli was ready. 
He knew what he had to do.  There was no doubt in his mind.  The Bent Ferret
was dangerous and he would put an end to his evil.

‘So, go now.  There are no guards. 
Kill the ferret.’

Shmueli opened the door and peered out.

Nothing.  He was alone.

He would descend the stairs and enter the
lounge and there he would find the Bent Ferret and shoot him.  It would all be
so easy.  His guardian angel would be so pleased.

He tiptoed across the landing and reached
the top of the stairs.

Not a sound.

He placed his foot on the first step.  Oh,
he knew what would happen.  There would be a loose board; it would creak and...

Nothing happened.

Shmueli descended, clutching the weapon
tightly in his hand as if its very presence gave him strength.

Down he went.  There were no tell-tale
squeals of old timber.  Everything was going just how his guardian angel had
said it would.  Soon he would have revenge for the death of all those who were
close to him.

Revenge.

But somehow the thought did not seem to be
one he could savour.  What would Cherry have done?

Where had that come from?

Cherry.

Why was he thinking of Cherry?  She was
history.  Part of the life he had put behind him.

There’s a place that is evil,

A place to die.

Shut up.  Shut up.

He had to concentrate on the job at hand.

There, ahead, that had to be the door.  It
was slightly ajar.  Great.  That made life easy.

Carefully, he pushed it open.

…………………………………………

Daylight, at last.

Jake could hardly believe it.  To see a
blue sky again, to see greenery, sunshine.  He could not help thinking of that
marvellous movie, the Wizard of Oz.  It was just like how Dorothy experienced
the Land of Oz after leaving the monochrome world of Kansas.  It was wonderful.

They were finally out of the Arka, away
from the various versions of Hell and into a world where life could flourish, and
flourish it did, in profusion.  Each of his senses tingled with warmth.  It was
as if there was a vitality surrounding him that had been denied for oh so
long.  There was a faint scent that was immediately apparent; pleasant,
floral.  It took Jake a moment to place it.  Of course, lavender.  How lovely.

There could be no doubt about it.  They
were in the Adamah.

Everywhere was verdant grass, an emerald
landscape of vigour.  Not too far distant was a small wood, the trees all
adorned with luxurious foliage and many were bearing unbelievably large fruit. 
Jake recalled fondly his entry into the world of Tevel.  He had thought that to
be paradise but now he could see that in appearance at least the Adamah
surpassed any wonders Tevel had to offer.

As he turned to Faivish he could see that
his companion was as overawed by the sheer beauty of the place as was he.

‘Well, my friend.  We have work to do.’

Faivish smiled, ‘I’m glad to see you so
cheerful again.’

Jake started.  It was true.  Ever since he
had dealt with the Angel of Destruction he had all but forgotten the despair he
had been feeling, and now…, now that he felt so invigorated by the atmosphere
of this bright and wonderful place it almost seemed like a distant memory.

It was a shame that Faivish had reminded
him.  All he could do was to smile weakly.

‘I’m sorry’ said his friend, ‘I’ll stay
shtum
in future.’

‘It’s not your fault.  Mitch must be ahead
of us but how far, I do not know.  The passage of time is not constant in the
seven earths and though we left the Arka within a short period of each other it
is possible that he may have already been here for weeks.  Somehow, we must
reach the crystal before him.  All I know is that it is guarded in a city of
golden towers according to the legends.’

‘But I always thought the Adamah was
uninhabited.’

‘Originally it was.  When Cain was
banished from the Garden of Eden he roamed the world until, at the last, Hashem
took pity on him and guided him here with his family.  Now, his descendants
have colonised parts of this world and serve the One-True God.  The next
crystal, the Yahalom, is regarded by them as sacred and they will not give it
up without some persuasion.’

‘I see and Mitch is ahead, is he?  Will he
manage to persuade them?’

‘I don’t know.  We’ll just have to hope
not.  From what I have learnt these people have weapons.  I suspect they can
look after themselves.’

And, as if to prove the point, a bolt that
could only have been fired by a crossbow whooshed towards them only to plunge
into the grass between their feet.  The natives were not going to be friendly.

‘Stand still,’ Jake commanded but he could
see that Faivish needed no instruction.  He was rooted to the spot in terror.

‘Over there,’ Jake pointed, ‘See it, in
the trees.’

Nicely camouflaged in green, almost as if
he was one of Robin Hood’s merry men, a man was climbing down and it was clear
that he held the weapon.

Jake raised his hands and told Faivish to
do likewise.  Warily he watched as the man, closely followed by another from a
neighbouring perch, approached the travellers.

The first thing Jake noticed about the two
men was that they had a rich dark skin-colouring, very Asian, but it was only
as they came closer that Jake noticed the most surprising thing about them. 
The men were not men at all.  They were women though with a most unattractive
masculine appearance.

The two pointed their cross-bows and made
it very clear that Jake and Faivish were prisoners.

‘Well,’ said the older of the two, ‘More
travellers, and this time one from the Tevel.  Come, we have been expecting
you.’

Jake made no comment and just managed to
stop Faivish from broadcasting his surprise at the woman’s words.  He gave a
signal and began walking in the direction his captors indicated, through the
green wood.

It was not long before they became aware
that the landscape was becoming less flat with a pleasant undulation and in the
not too far distance was a hill which Jake felt sure was their destination.  As
they came closer he became certain for there, surmounting the hill, was a
magnificent citadel that overlooked the land below with a commanding presence. 
There indeed were the golden towers of which he had learned during his time
with the Haham and there too was the yellow stone that so characterised the
city of Jerusalem on the Earth he called home.

They passed through fields of barley, corn
and wheat and Jake was surprised to see that it was the women who were tilling
the soil.  Where were the men of this place?  So far they had not seen any. 
And then they came to a rustic village of small wooden houses which was where
the mystery was solved.  It was the men who seemed to be at home minding the
children whilst the women toiled at their labours and, whereas the women seemed
almost masculine in appearance, the men were quite effeminate.

This then was a world in which the
traditional roles had been reversed and it was quite clear that the fantasies
created by fevered male minds were completely wrong.  The dream of being a sex
slave to a tribe of amazons figured prominently in sexist literature.  Any man
who relished being a sex slave to these women would have to be positively
perverse.

It was not long before they reached the
pathway that led towards the citadel where they were greeted by two more women
in floral religious robes.  Unlike the others they had seen these two were
feminine in appearance, with a rich dark colouring.  Neither were beauties but
they were not unattractive with fine aquiline features.

‘Welcome to the Adamah,’ said one.  She
was slightly shorter than her fellow and was wearing a red velvet sash. 
Presumably a mark of rank.  ‘I am Kastria, Priestess of El Shadai.’

(El Shadai - God Most High, in Hebrew.)

Jake bowed gently, ‘My name is Jacob
Tranton of Heled.  I too am a Priest of El Shadai.  This is Faivish of Tevel.’

The priestess nodded.

‘We shall see.  Come.  We must prepare you
to meet with Malaka.  Then we will determine the truth.’

Kastria led them to an ante-chamber within
the yellow-stone palace deep within the citadel.  It was a room of simple
luxury, of cushions and exotic flowers with scents as wondrous as they were
beautiful.  Loose fitting togas lay on the velvet covered couches and Kastria
ordered Jake and Faivish to change into them.

Demurely the two women turned their backs
on the disrobing men and Jake almost felt a sense of satisfaction at realising
that in this world modesty prevailed.

‘You are wearing adornments on your
hands.  Remove them.’

The rings.

‘I would prefer to keep them.’

‘No.  They contain crystals dedicated to
El-Shadai.  They must be placed in the Temple.’

‘But...’

‘No.  Remove them or must we take them
from you?’

‘I can’t.  They won’t come off.’

(So how would she react to that?)

Kastria laughed, ‘Will they not?  Give me
your hands.’

‘What are you going to do?’

‘Nothing that will hurt you I promise. 
Come...your hands.’

Somewhat nervously Jake raised them and
wondered what Kastria intended to do.  Gently, she took his fingers within her
fist and spoke words of Hebrew that Jake recognised.

‘Poteach et Yadecha Oomasbiah Lechol Chai
Ratzon.’

(The declaration of faith that God would
provide for everyone’s needs.)

Instantly Jake felt a tingling in his
fingers and, as Kastria slid away her hands, the rings came with them.

‘Thank you.  Are these the only crystals
that you have?’

‘Yes...’ but there was a nagging doubt and
Jake realised that Kastria had sensed his hesitation.

‘Well?’

He tried to remember.  It went back to his
last night on Heled.  He and Ben Tiferet had been trying to find a way of
deceiving Lapski.  They had borrowed a ruby from Cherry’s (Oh Cherry.  Another
he had failed.) mother and had been intending to attempt to pass it off as the
Odem, the crystal held by Ben.  He had been carrying the thing with him ever
since.

‘In my pockets.  There’s a ruby but it has
no significance.’

‘Show me.’

Jake removed the stone from his trousers
and displayed it.

‘Yes, it is similar in shape and size to
the Odem but it is not.  Indeed we already have the Odem.’

‘But how?’

Surely that did not mean that Ben was
here?

‘We have another traveller from your
world.  He brought with him three crystals; the Odem, the Achlamah and the
Shoham.  All are within the temple which is where they will remain together
with your own.’

The Achlamah and the Shoham.  The stones
of Sheol and Abaddon; which meant that Mitch was here; but how did he obtain
the Odem?  That made no sense.

‘This traveller, where is he?’

‘You will learn in good time.  Malaka
awaits.’

The opulence of the room into which they
passed would have been the envy of even a modern monarch.  Tapestries covered
parts of the wooden panelled walls whilst paintings hung throughout the
remainder.  It was noteworthy that not one of the images depicted anything that
belonged to the animal kingdom.  There were landscapes and scenes of every
description but no portraits whatever.  It did not take Jake long to realise
why.  It was an interpretation of the Ten Commandments.

Thou shalt not make unto thee any
graven image or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above or that is in
the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth.

These people accepted those words
literally and who was to say that they were not wrong in their understanding.

Just over twenty more women stood around
the place, all draped in floral robes with coloured sashes that seemed to
signify some form of hierarchy.  As if to confirm her as the obvious queen of
this society.  A woman of regal beauty.  Not young by any means but her hair
was still luxurious, and her face was pleasantly lined with constant laughter.  Jake
hoped that was a good sign.  Her sash was wide and coloured a bright crimson.

‘Approach Malaka,’ ordered Kastria.

Eyes cast downwards Jake and Faivish
slowly walked forward.  Should they bow properly?  What was the proper way of
greeting the monarch in this place?  The last thing Jake wanted to do was to
cause offence.

‘You may look upon my face.’

 Jake looked up to see that Malaka was
smiling.

‘It is pleasing to know that there are
those of Heled that know that there is but One to whom obeisance must be
shown.  Speak, man of Heled.’

What form of address should he use?  It
could not be anything too grandiose.  It was quite clear that Malaka regarded
such deference as suitable for God alone.  He decided to play safe.  If there
was a minor breach of etiquette hopefully no offence would be taken.