Double Suns - Twisted Mirrors - Episode II

By Charley Blackwolf

Time has passed and the prophet begins his journey. Fate continues its uncertain dance to change Billy Jackson from a simple, vulgar man into the avenger that will walk among those whose fathers had escaped the dying star and inflicted war, suffering and mayhem on the local people. He will spread death but yet gave back the genetics needed to carry on their species and right the many wrongs that have been done. Revolution ensues, a damaged body is saved and a weapon gained but the dark face of female jealously begins to show in the shadows.
Episode II continues to explore human frailty, love gained and lost, jealousy, political corruption, conquest by invading armies and its resulting brutality, possibilities of space travel by folding space and time using magnetic fields and amplifying nuclear forces of super-heavy elements, potential for man-machine cyborgs and the survival threat imposed on a civilization when they see their sun begin to die.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Apr 3, 2017
• ISBN: 9781483598147

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CHAPTER 1

THE VILLAGE

The setting of the second sun had started to cast its long shadows, and the white of the frost was beginning to spread in its nightly allegiance with the borders of leaves and grasses when they reached the top of the rock covered outcropping that overlooked the Sandu village.

Along with Lupus, they had begun that segment of their journey in the early morning’s light just before the rise of the first sun and with Billy riding Silack at an easy trot had continued their trek across the plains, stopping only for a brief rest at mid-day.

Somewhere out there in the vast flatness in what seemed to Billy to be an endless horizon, they had spent the last two nights in freezing sleep and then they had gone on. The rocx alternated their pace between a walk and a trot until finally on the second day, in the late afternoon, they reached a clearly marked footpath winding its way around a series of rock-edged, table top mounds and through shallow rugged canyons that Silack said would eventually lead them to the Sandu village.

Billy noticed that in ancient times the area must have known a violent history, as mixed with the red sandstone framing of the jagged hilltops were black patches of twisted stone and the sprinkling of small shining glass beads that showed a chronology of lava flows and the dusting of volcanic eruptions.

After they reached the canyons, they had continued on for a couple of hours in earth time at a comfortable walk, picking their way in the dimming light through stones and along the rough but well-worn passage. In boredom, Billy estimated the distance between two of the canyon’s walls and then based on the approximate time it took them to cross, guessed that with their long stride, even at just a walk, the rocxs could easily cover 70 to 80 miles in a single day of Sorn’s time.

As they stopped, sat and gazed down at the village below, Billy pulled the fur coat he had taken from Rand’s body around his legs and across his chest to help guard against the quickly descending cold that accompanied the oncoming dusk. In doing so he grabbed a spot near the waistline on the coat that had hardened with coagulated blood, and the unanticipated rigid feeling in the fur caused him to flinch and look down. When he shifted the direction of view, on the periphery he caught elusive movements among the shadows of the squat, brush like evergreen trees that had begun to populate the hills. In isolated clumps they seemed to be acting as guards along the tops of the canyon walls.

He thought for a moment and then sent the telepathic message to Silack, "I think there is someone over there on the right watching us."

Sandu scouts. There are four. They have been with us for some time now. They join the others. Silack replied after quickly sneaking a look for himself.

Though up to now he had seen no one, Silack had told Billy earlier that since about mid-morning he had sensed they were being shadowed by several Sandu warriors watching from a distance and carefully monitoring the direction of their progress. Concerned, Billy had asked if they were going to attack. Silack answered that he did not think so, that the Sandu were in no hurry, they were a patient people. Those watching them were in all likelihood now aware of his weapon and knew there would be deaths among them if they did.

As long as he and Silack continued on a path directly toward the village the warriors would hold off because they probably thought that they were foolishly heading toward a trap and didn’t know it. He had said they would assume you are just riding the rocx Silack wherever it wants to go, and since the rest of the herd and the protected feeding areas are near the village, that’s where he is taking you.

Silack also told him that because they cannot, they assume no one else can communicate with the rocxs except perhaps Ladonna, and even though she was known by the Sandu to have a some sort of special relationship with the big animals they simply believed her to be a kind of soothsayer, possessed of an unusual ability in healing the rocxs when they were injured. It never occurred to them that she could actually talk to the rocxs.

He had went on to assure Billy that if at any point they were to turn away and head off in a different direction the warriors would, in all probability, attempt to avenge the deaths of Rand and Tiel by attacking immediately. Also there was a good possibility that the elders had instructed them not to attack as long as they were headed to the village, because it could be that Billy was an envoy of some sort on his way to deliver a message to them. That, and based on the fact that they knew that they could pretty much attack any time they wanted to, made them perfectly willing to wait and see what his purpose was.

Billy was somewhat surprised to find that the village was much larger than he had expected. Set in a semicircle, each with an attending spiral of smoke ascending to the sky, were nearly a thousand tent-like structures consisting of poles covered by brush and leather interlaced together in a rough, wicker-like fashion. The village was situated along a wide river’s edge and quietly nestled in grassy valley that was itself ringed by a succession of several gently rolling hills. Listening carefully Billy could just hear the rush of water as it crossed over the river’s stone floor on its way to some faraway ocean.

In the quickly dimming light he could still see that in contrast to the rough, rocky area with its isolated clumps of trees and occasional tufts of grass that they had just ridden through, most of the area below them and surrounding the village was blanketed in a lush foliage of greenish-yellow grasses and squat the little evergreens trees that, here, seemed to be completely covered with small bluish white berries.

Curious and wanting to get a better look through the trees that sat on the edge of the bluff, he asked Silack to kneel so he could dismount. In sliding off the huge beast he stopped for a moment to scratch Silack’s ears and was rewarded with several pleasant thoughts of gratitude. In the short time they had been together Billy had learned that vigorous scratching at the base of the ears was something that brought great pleasure to the rocx and he done it whenever the situation seemed appropriate.

In looking down over the valley he noticed that near the center of the village and along the banks of its companion river of sparkling clear water raised a large central building. A more permanent structure than the surrounding shelters, it was an assembly constructed of stone, mortar and logs with a dirt roof. As he gazed down on it he felt the transmission from Silack, That is the house of the elders. It is called the Timnah and is regarded as a sacred place.

Billy found that after riding across and spending those several nights together on the plains, he was getting much better at understanding Silack’s mental wave patterns and the time to translate the thoughts, feelings and images transmitted between them had decreased to near insignificance. He also found, as he had suspected in their first meeting, that telepathic communication was a lot faster than verbal speech and its meanings much more specific, for a word was not just heard but a sense of feeling was also directly sent to the brain. With his back to Silack Billy gazed down at the Timnah for a moment, then turned to face him and asked, Is that where I will have to stand this trial?

Yes, yes, it is. Lupus says he will go down now and tell Sasha to let Ladonna know of our arrival. We think it will be helpful if she is in the village when we arrive. You will be the first male light skinned person the Sandu have seen; at least in this generation. In times of old there was Ladonna’s great grandfather Ja-tam and the legends say there once were some in the canyons at the top of the forest, a place called Rabbax, but they are all gone now. Silack paused for a moment, took a few steps forward to stand beside him and then continued, Because she is a woman, Ladonna cannot be allowed to directly represent you at the council of the elders, but it may be possible for her to act as your interpreter. She can speak with all of our minds so it may be that I can speak your thoughts to her and she can tell whoever the elders choose to represent you of your case. It will give you a better chance. With your different tongues it is doubtful that she will be able to communicate with you verbally.

"Thanks, Silack. Who were these people that lived at Rabbax? You never told me about them."

These legends are very old. I was there once. Most of their houses are in ruins now, only a few fruit trees remain. It is said they all died from some sort of sickness or something. It was many passes ago. Even long before the time of my great-great grandfathers, I think they were supposed to have died during the time when Tamak fought the forces of evil. Perhaps that is what killed them … anger, hate, jealousy and greed … but no one knows for sure. These stories are passed along for many generations and the details become less clear as time goes by.

For a few moments Billy watched Lupus wind his way down the narrow trail along the cliffs, and then gestured in the direction of the village. It’s much bigger than I expected. Tell Lupus thank you for traveling with us and to put in a good word with this Ladonna for me.

He had just finished his thought transmission to Silack when his ears cringed—from down below came a shrieking howl that made him tremble with its bone-chilling effects. He shook his head and asked, What the hell was that?

Rubats. Silack replied, "They have sensed our smell and tell of our arrival."

It was quiet for a moment, and then the shrieking howl started up again to be joined by another, then another, and soon it seemed as if the entire valley below was screaming in pain. In an attempt to see better Billy turned, walked twenty or so paces away to an area with a clearer view and carefully edged closer to the rim of the overhanging cliffs. He stood for a moment and said, They sound like dogs, only their howl is a much higher pitch. Kinda, well … I don’t know, but it’s somewhere between a scream and a whistle.

Yes, the images you are sending me tell me they are much like what you call a dog only they have much longer hair and are not so many colors. Rubats are only known to come in what you would call white. Both the Sandu and the Sensi keep them as pets to warn of intruders. They have excellent noses. At night they circle the village and are very effective. More than once they have saved this village from a raid by the Sensi.

Suddenly, nearly setting his nerves on fire a thought rocketed through Billy’s mind. Freeze! Jackson Billy Jackson, do not move! Your life is in danger!

Billy stopped in mid-step, and began grabbing for his pistol verbally mumbling and thinking at the same time, What? The Sandu?! Where?

No, not Sandu! Elapidae! There on your left.

Afraid to move his head and not knowing what he was likely to see, Billy looked out to the side and saw that about ten feet away, a huge hooded serpent had risen up above the short trees and was looking directly at him. With his mind supercharged in fear he quickly assessed that the creature had trapped him between itself and the edge of the precipice.

He was beginning to try and calculate possible escape routes when he felt Silack’s transmission. You are within its striking distance. Stand still, do not move. It is deadly. It has found your heat. It waits for your movement to strike. You must stand perfectly still for if it thinks you’re a threat, it will kill!

The reptile was black in color. Its thick lower body sections, nearly a foot in diameter, were lying partially hidden in the stones and were almost invisible in the dimness of the evening’s diminished light. Motionless, with its hood expanded and non-blinking eyes of bright red that seemed to stare out of its flat head like two glowing hot coals, it sat quietly watching him. Every several seconds or so it would carefully flick its long ivory tongue and test for the tiny changes in the air temperature that would allow it to gauge the distance of strike.

Carefully heeding Silack’s instructions, Billy held himself rigidly in position. He took a quick breath and looking out of the sides of his eyes guessed the creature’s total length to be about triple a man’s height, as it seemed to be holding about six feet of its round massive body up off the ground. Looking at the huge reptile, Billy thought, A cobra!

Then he felt Silack’s transmission. No. Elapidae. But yes, it is much like your mind’s image only much larger.

Then suddenly, almost as if it had never been there, the giant snake settled back among the stones of the rocky ground and vanished.

Is he gone? Billy asked as his muscles began to scream for relief while he strained to stand perfectly still.

I don’t know for sure. I think so, but there may be a den somewhere close by. Wait just a little longer, there may be another. They usually travel in pairs.

You never told me about these!

They are rare … but are known to frequent this type of ground. I forgot, I should have warned you.

Nearly ready to drop Billy said, Silack, I can’t last much longer.

You must! His mate … his mate is nearby. There, see? A female. Off to your right. It’s smaller than the first.

Fear again gripped his body as he saw only a few feet away a smaller twin of the first. It was still and lying with its full length coiled and nearly completely hidden in the darkness of an outcropping of the greenish-yellow grass. He could see the ridges shining in the black scaled skin that covered a muscled body as thick as his neck. His mouth grew dry and he could feel his heart pounding in his ears. His face began to feel hot and he felt like at any moment he might faint. In desperation he yelled, MOVE! YOU SON-OF-A-BITCH!

With relief he saw the snake uncoil and its tail quickly disappear into an unknown chamber concealed somewhere below the grass. Then he felt Silack’s admonishment. That was very foolish Jackson Billy Jackson! A bite from the Elapidae would have caused you to go insane and die a horrible death. You were lucky! It could have just as easily have turned on you!

Is it, I mean, are they gone?

I believe you are safe now. I sense that their presence is near but they are going away from us.

Jesus! I never could stand snakes. Are they telepathic too?

No, not in the true sense of being able to communicate. At least, not with my species. But when they are very near, like those two, I can feel that they do emit a kind of … well, it’s sort of like a hot vibration.

Billy felt the impressions of Silack’s thoughts and asked, You mean like a heat wave? Sort of a light beam like laser or maybe radar?

Silack thought a minute. "I don’t understand the words, but your concept is correct."

It comes from their eyes, doesn’t it?

I think so, but I’m not sure. I can just tell if they are nearby. As I said before, though, there must be a den here somewhere as I should have picked up their presence before they were able to get so close. The only explanation is that they were under the ground and came to the surface to see what we were.

With a sigh of relief, Billy slowly sat down on one of the stones and answered, I saw the smaller one go underground close that bunch of grass there. Why didn’t they attack?

Despite your general feelings against them they are not an aggressive species unless threatened. By the way, who is Jesus?

He was a very great man in the history of my planet, a religious figure, a holy man.

Perhaps he came to your aid. You seem to call his name a lot when you are in stressed situations. Does he always help you?

Billy felt a sense of guilt for having said the name in the tone that he had used and with a sense of reverence in his mind replied, I should thank him for sending me a friend like you, Silack. It was really you who saved my life. I think he helps by making such things possible.

Then I am glad you know him.

Billy thought for a moment, got up off the stone and then answered, "Perhaps not as well as I should, Silack … perhaps not as well as I should."

He stood quietly staring out over the valley for a few moments, and then once again became aware of the howling from below. Then, sensing it was time to go; Billy turned and walked back to Silack’s side. He reached up, scratched Silack’s ears and then began to untie the leather ladder and stirrup arrangement that, with its several steps, allowed him access to the big gray’s back.

He started to mount, and then hesitated for a moment, staring at the simple dark brown leather sack with tightly tied drawstrings at its top. He had found the sack full of food on the warrior Tiel’s body and had taken it along with the man’s fur coat, bow, and arrows and assorted other apparel. He swallowed hard, remembering the grisly contents it now held and he was happy that he had been able to find something to put Rand’s head in rather than having to carry it exposed.

Now, it as well as the other items was lashed together at the back of the small rudimentary Sandu saddle of fur-padded bone and leather strapping that sat high up on Silack’s back. He smiled, remembering that he had nearly buried the man in his coat, then at the last minute had decided to hell with him, he wouldn’t need it and elected to keep it for himself. He was glad he had done so, for in their travel across the plains during the early morning before the second sunrise and in the late evenings the warmth of that extra coat covering him had been most welcome.

Now, with the second sun slipping below the horizon and darkness beginning its final grasp, his vision began to dim so that he could no longer see the village clearly. In the veil of the night, he only knew it was there because beneath the spirals of smoke he had seen earlier the lights of fires were beginning to flicker brightly in distant dots of orange and red. He thought of the warmth of the fires and decided he would leave the coat tied to the saddle.

Are you sure we are doing the right thing, Silack?

"No.