79 A.D. (Bachiyr Book 3) by David McAfee

Author:David McAfee [McAfee, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2015-06-29T07:00:00+00:00

***

“That seems like it would be very useful,” Baella said, truly impressed. Theron had just told her about his newest psalm, which he called Esh, the Hebrew word for Burn. She knew better than to ask him how it worked, and he would be foolish to tell her. But if she could get a demonstration, then she would be able to figure it out on her own, a fact that Theron undoubtedly knew. She sensed a bargain coming.

“Indeed,” Theron replied. “It’s quite effective for subduing other Bachiyr. Several Enforcers arrived in Pompeii last summer. They were looking for me, and I let them find me, although I’m certain they would have preferred not to.”

“I can imagine,” Baella said. She knew all about the deaths of the four Enforcers who’d come to Pompeii last year. According to her sources, their deaths had been agonizing and slow. She wondered how much the Council of Thirteen knew about their missing Enforcers. That bit of information could come in handy someday.

Their conversation was interrupted by a brief but strong tremor in the mountain. It lasted for perhaps a count of thirty, during which time Theron stared at the walls as if they had betrayed him. A few stones fell from new cracks in the ceiling, and a cloud of dust rose from the floor, and she caught a faint whiff of sulfur, but those were the only ill effects that she could detect. On the surface, anyway. Beneath their feet, however, Baella felt the world stirring.

It would not be long.

“What effect does it have on humans?” she asked once the shaking subsided.

“What makes you think I’ve tested it on humans?” Theron replied.

She stared at him, not even bothering to answer.

“None at all,” he said. “Not yet, at any rate.”

“That’s disappointing.”

“Indeed it is,” he replied. “I wanted to continue working on the psalm, but other matters took precedence.”

“Such as?”

“You will find out soon enough,” he replied. “But first, I have a request to make of you.”

Of course you do, she thought. “And that is?”

“This mountain is dying,” Theron said. “I need to find another location. A safe one. Vesuvius is angry. She is likely to erupt at any time. Not only that, but this place has become too obvious. The fact that you and Taras have both found me here proves that this is no longer a safe place to keep my sanctuary. If I am to finish, I need someplace where I can work without fear of being disturbed.”

“You wish to use my castle,” she stated.

“I can think of no safer place,” he said. “If the Council of Thirteen has not found it by now they never will.”

Baella nodded. She’d suspected as much. She also suspected she knew Theron’s real reason for wanting to gain admittance to her sanctuary. But one thing at a time.

“And what do I get for letting you into my home?”

“Would you like a demonstration?” he asked.

Baella nodded. She would, indeed.

“Then follow me,” Theron said, and turned toward the door.

She

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