Janus the Arrival (The Janus Trilogy Book 1) (15 page)

One
night, as they sat eating together, Dana casually asked him why he’d chosen to
move house and change his identity. This seemed to throw him a tad, from what
she could make out, although his reply about having made a mistake with Debbie
and wanting to make a new start seemed a little bit flimsy as far as she was
concerned. She knew that to question him further would be a serious mistake on
her part, and so she decided to let the matter rest for a while, especially
having spent so long trying to gain his trust. This was after all, the main
reason that she’d given herself to him in the first place. She also knew that
that was something she really couldn’t afford to lose track of at any time. It
would be ever so easy to succumb to the man’s charms, especially whenever they
were in the bedroom.

   
Janus knew that Dana was desperately trying
to link him to her father’s death. He’d known this for a good long while. Yet,
he really enjoyed playing cat and mouse games with this one. She was far more
intelligent than the last woman he’d been with, although he thought he’d toy
with this one for a short while longer. Janus already knew from experience that
he certainly couldn’t afford to let another female become such a burden to him.

The
final crunch came quite unexpectedly one evening, when Dana arrived home earlier
than expected. Having naturally assumed that Janus must be out, she’d entered
the unlocked bathroom, only to discover a figure standing completely naked in
front of the mirror. It appeared to be attempting to place something into its
eye from what she could make out. Turning to her in anger, with two fearsome,
yet extraordinarily piercing yellow eye’s, which could only be described as
reptilian in appearance, Dana knew that she was in mortal danger. Whatever this
thing was, it clearly wasn’t human. Trying to remain as calm as possible, she
slowly backed away, hoping that maybe she hadn’t been seen. Yet this was not to
be, and the frightened woman turned to run, just as Janus sprang into action.
He quickly followed her through the door and leapt an incredibly long distance,
before landing heavily on her back and sending her crashing to the floor. Dana
gasped for breath as Janus, or whatever it was, forced her to turn over. It
lifted her up as though she were completely weightless, and then pinned her back
down to the floor before ripping her blouse from her body. He sat astride her
as he started to feed part of her clothing into her mouth in order to gag her.
Strong hands closed firmly around her neck and proceeded to crush her windpipe,
but Dana wasn’t giving up without a fight. She promptly kicked out with her
feet but only managed to overturn a chair in the process because of the angle
he’d shifted to. With her strength already diminishing, and knowing that time
was fast running out, she was just beginning to loose consciousness when Janus
suddenly let out a terrifying cry. He seemed to lose all control and then slump
forward with the grip on her neck gradually relaxing. Without any sign of
hesitation, she quickly managed to ease her way out from under him. She then
propped herself into a sitting position with her back firmly pushed up against
the sofa. Dana stared in horror as the person she’d known as Janus rolled
around on the floor going through a series of short spasmodic jerks. It looked
as though it were suffering a fit of some sort. It then faced towards her and
shouted out in a strange language. She recognised something that she thought
sounded a bit like the name Vicky, which she then heard twice more as the
shaking increased in intensity. It reached an incredible speed as the features
on the body appeared to shift back and forth between male and female form. It
was a totally unbelievable sight, and Dana felt as if she was caught up in some
insane dream sequence from a fantasy film. That was until the body eventually
came to a halt in the appearance of an extremely beautiful young woman who now
lay naked at her feet. Dana was still far too weak to even think about standing
following her ordeal. Just about every bone in her body ached like crazy, and
she felt quite sick from the whole experience. Yet, as she sat trying her best
to recover, she found it almost impossible to tear her eyes away from the
incredible features of the woman stretched out before her. Seconds later, Dana
jumped with sheer fright, as both eye’s opened simultaneously. The woman didn’t
move at the start. She just stared right back at her and made her feel even
more nervous, before finally getting to her feet and standing up, although she
did appear to be a little shaky at first from what Dana could see. Striding
casually from the room, having gained enough confidence to do so. The figure
reappeared a short while later, wearing jeans and a sweater that belonged to
Dana. She still sat helpless and couldn’t move an inch, even though she had
attempted it a couple of times. The woman approached with caution, and although
Dana expected the worse, she simply bent over and lifted her up with great
ease. She then placed her carefully down on the sofa and handed her a cotton
shirt, just before disappearing off into the kitchen.

Resorting
back to the lazy way of doing things, Dana yanked the baggy shirt directly over
her head, as she couldn’t be bothered to undergo the arduous task of
unbuttoning it, only to do it straight up again afterwards. She’d literally
just finished pulling it fully over, when the woman appeared with two steaming
cups full of coffee. Sitting down beside the detective she reached across and
cradled Dana’s head in her lap, and although she wanted to object, she couldn’t
quite speak as her throat instantly became wracked with pain.

   
A funny little croaking sound escaped her
lips whenever she tried, but the woman gazed down at her and put her finger to
her lips, motioning for her to save her breath for now.
 
Although the woman looked to be about the
same age as her, Dana knew this was not necessarily the case. No doubt, the
stranger would have already experienced far more in her life than she was ever
likely too. The woman’s hands then moved to the back of Dana’s neck and began
to massage it. Within ten minutes the intense pain in her neck and shoulders
began to subside so much so, that when she attempted to speak, she was
absolutely stunned that a series of audible words suddenly came flooding out.

   
‘Take it easy!’ She was told, as the
rubbing continued, but a little gentler than before. ‘Just lie back and relax
as I explain the full story to you, even though you may some of it a little
hard to believe at first.’

Forty
minutes later, and true to what the woman had said about her possibly finding
some of it quite hard to believe, Dana had finally received most of her
answers. The woman was called Vicky, and it appeared that she and Janus
happened to be one and the same person,
except
for the fact that she seemed to be the better half of the two. It also
transpired that certain factions within a race known as the Dra-Na-Zee, could
change between male or female, good or bad along with a whole variety of other
combinations of opposites at any given time. The Dra-Na-Zee symbol was
evidently made up of a circle with two interlocking curved shapes. One was
black and the other one was white, and both contained a small circle filled
with the opposite colour at its head. This had been adopted by the Chinese over
many centuries, following visits by the Dra-Na-Zee to this planet. It had
therefore become widely used in Taoism and Confucianism, but was more commonly
recognised to most people as Yin and Yang.

   
The two women sat talking through to the
early hours of the morning and past events no longer appeared essential to the
plot any further. Dana had gained so many answers to the majority of questions
that had been nagging at her for so long. She also felt a certain sense of
vindication on behalf of her father, especially now that Janus had been
supposedly banished from his body and was now much closer to being satisfied
with the thought that she’d finally won. It wasn’t long before tiredness
finally caught up with her, and this placed her slightly out of character from
her usual self. Dana had finally been persuaded to crash out on the bed, while
Vicky offered to sleep on the sofa.
    

   
In all honesty, there wasn’t much that she
could argue the case for, seeing as she was so exhausted and Vicky claimed that
she really didn’t need to sleep.

In
the morning, as Dana awoke, the room seemed to be swimming around before her
very eyes. It was almost as if she’d been out on a heavy night of boozing the
night before. Her head really ached like crazy, and her throat felt extremely
dry. Then, as memories of the previous night came flooding back to her, she
grabbed a dressing gown from the back of the bedroom door, with the intention
of covering her nakedness, and immediately entered the living room. Rather
frustratingly, Vicky was nowhere to be seen. Yet, still feeling a little vague
and not quite thinking straight, Dana naturally assumed that she’d popped out
to the shops to get some groceries. Therefore, she just lay back, lounging around
on the sofa and flicked through one of the magazines that had been shoved down
the side, while she waited. A good ten minutes or more had lapsed before she
finished reading, thinking that there wasn’t much in there in the first place.
Having finally got up, Dana entered the kitchen and noticed a note on the work
surface. It sat beside the kettle and read.

Dana,

Please accept my apologies, but I have to finish what The Chosen One
has already started.

The Dra-Na-Zee cannot be allowed to replace mankind, and I will do
everything in my power to make sure that it never happens.

I ask that you do not attempt to find me because you will only get in
the way, and no one will believe your story. In my own way I love you almost as
if you were the sister I never had, so please take care.

Vicky.

Dana
read the letter over once again, before placing it in the dressing gown pocket,
just as the kettle clicked to inform her it had boiled. Deep in thought, she
searched around, and in due course, she located some headache tablets in one of
the overhead cupboards, before making herself a mug of tea and gradually
heading for the bathroom. Once she was washed and fully dressed in some clothes
she established to be about her size, Dana finally felt ready to face the world
again, having already packed the clothes she worn earlier into a bag she’d
found at the back of one of the cupboards she’d looked in.

   
Leaving the place, and making sure that it
was safely locked up, she then drove directly to the estate agents, which Janus
had mentioned during a previous conversation.

Twenty
minutes later, as she covered the more than familiar route to the Police
Station, Dana smiled at the way she’d dealt with the pompous little fat man
who’d tried to screw her for money. The cheeky bastard had implied that as far
as he was concerned, Mr Dayne had reneged on their deal. Therefore, he informed
her that he felt she owed him on his behalf, before a nice long glance at her
badge had quite hastily managed to change his mind. With her thoughts being
elsewhere for the rest of the day, and her colleagues commenting on how distant
she seemed, Dana almost drove off the road on the drive home. Something
suddenly sprung up that she’d somehow managed to overlook. Vicky had written
about finishing what The Chosen One had already started, but having had time to
consider the bigger picture, she was pretty sure that the children were the
key.

   
Debbie had had a child by Janus. The woman
that her father had died trying to save had also been pregnant, and now Dana
also suspected a link to the aristocrat, whose death Janus had seemed to find
quite amusing in the papers.
 

   
It all began to make sense, following
Vicky’s explanation, along with some of the other information that she’d
managed to gather. Yet as Dana filled in a few more of the missing pieces, she
simply couldn’t help but wonder just how many other children Janus could
possibly have fathered. Only Vicky would know the true answer to that question.
So what was she planning to do now? What powers did she possess and could they
possibly be the same, different, stronger or weaker than the ones that Janus
had held? Dana still required quite a few more answers to be certain, and she
needed them fairly quickly, especially as Vicky already seemed to be well
acquainted with the Dra-Na-Zee’s plans. This meant that if she were now one of
them, she could be well and truly capable of just about anything.

   
There had already been enough innocent
blood spilled in the course of everything that had happened so far, and she
sure as hell wasn’t going to just sit back and watch it happen all over again,
especially when it came down to the lives of innocent young children.

It
had been a long night for the three men who’d sat together in silence for much
of the time, whilst on lookout duty. They watched from the shaded windows of
the parked up vehicle, with its solemn looking exterior, yet much more
luxurious inside. This was just as well, because there was nothing worse than
being uncomfortable during this job, which could easily make them start to get
all niggly with each other over trivial things. As discussed, they’d happily
agreed to take it in turns to sleep, having digested a large mixture of fries,
burgers and soft drinks during this period. As a team they’d worked under
similar circumstances in the past, and on this occasion, each of them had taken
a walk by the river to stretch their legs during their allotted intervals.
They’d also gone to the toilet and had a quick wash and brush up while they had
the opportunity.

It
was six forty in the morning when a dark haired woman eventually appeared from
the flats under surveillance. They all looked on as she hailed a passing black
cab, which promptly disappeared into the early morning mist that currently
served as a rather morbid looking backdrop against the River Thames. They noted
down the taxi’s registration in the notebook they’d been using, but it was then
another two hours before Dana finally emerged, looking quite sprightly. The
three of them watched and waited until her vehicle ultimately exited the car
park and started to head off towards what they assumed would be the police
station. They then followed a short distance behind, in the tracks of the
pretty detective inspector, who they hoped would provide more of the answers
they so urgently required. Dana pretended not to notice the agents at first.
She hoped they’d had a crappy night, all bunched up in the car. She knew how
boring that could be and was really pleased that she’d had a bed to sleep in that
night. She also hoped that they lived happily ever after, especially once they
received their orders to return home. She still felt very bitter about the way
they’d treated her, and therefore she enjoyed watching their frustration, as
she managed to slip through the traffic lights just before they turned the
corner. What really made her day however, was the double flash of the Gatso
enforcement camera going off, just as they attempted to jump the red light.
Pulling into the police station car park, Dana grabbed the very last available
space, just as they appeared at the back entrance. Turning off the engine and
exiting from the car, she promptly gave them one of her nicest smiles, and
asked if they’d posed for any decent photographs recently, as she walked by.

Woken
by the policeman tapping on the side of his car, the taxi driver automatically
reached over and opened the window.
 

   
‘Excuse me sir! Are you alright?’ asked the
officer, with genuine concern in his voice.

   
‘Yes! I’m fine thanks officer,’ Came the
reply. ‘I was just catching forty
winks
before my next fare gets called in.’

   
Satisfied with the response and convinced
that nothing was amiss; the policeman swiftly explained his concern.

    
‘It’s just that the back end of your car
is poking out at a bit of a dangerous angle. So I thought it best to tell you
and check if everything was okay.’

   
‘Thanks for your concern officer,’ replied
the taxi driver. ‘I’ll take more care about how I park next time,’ he shouted,
as the policeman had already started to walk back to his vehicle. The police
car soon moved off and disappeared into the passing traffic. In the meantime,
the taxi driver gazed somewhat puzzlingly at his reflection in the rear view
mirror, and attempted to recall what on earth had happened. His was sure his
last passenger had been a woman. She’d been fairly attractive by all accounts,
and didn’t she have long black hair?

The
FBI agent slammed the telephone handset down in utter frustration, and almost
knocked his coffee over in the process.

   
‘That cabbie is either a complete moron or
he’s on some sort of crazy drugs. He can’t remember a single thing about the
woman, apart from the colour of her hair, by the sound of things.’ he sighed.
Dana was halfway through eating a sandwich and she didn’t quite know whether to
laugh or cry at his reaction.

   
‘He must have had his head up his arse at
the time,’ the agent continued, as he ranted on and on, in a deep American
drawl. That was really all it took to start her off, especially in the mood she
was currently in. Dana had tried very hard to hold back her emotions up until
that moment. Then the laugh eventually escaped her lips, along with the last
few remnants of food, which were subsequently deposited into her lap. This only
served to increase her laughter all the more, and once she caught sight of her
colleagues stern faces, she doubled up and had to hold onto her sides. A short
while later, having finally calmed down, Dana made a feeble attempt to apologise,
before heading to the ladies toilet at the top of the corridor in order to
clean herself up and completely regain her composure. On her return, just as
expected, she was then called into her boss’s office, where he tore her off a
strip and extolled the virtues of how not to embarrass your boss in public,
before finally accepting an apology from her.