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Jake closed his eyes and shut out all
thought of everything.  In his mind he called.

‘Please, God.  I ask not for myself.  Help
this man.’

He could feel his hands tingle, a warm
charge of energy that suffused his palms.  Without opening his eyes he reached
across and cupped Faivish’s forehead.  The energy was flowing through him into
the head of the other.

For a few minutes he remained there like
that.  And then, at last, his hands cooled of their own volition and Jake knew
that it was over.

When he opened his eyes he could see that
Faivish was a new man.  All the vigour that had gone from him had returned. 
The Daivish head was still dead but now it was supported properly on its trunk,
almost as if it was filling with vitality.

‘Thank you, thank you.  How can I ever
repay you?’

Jake smiled.  Repay him?  The only payment
that was worth anything was the knowledge of the power for good that lay within
him.  Faivish was right.  He was the chosen one.  It felt so good to know it.

‘There is something you can do for me but
it requires bravery.  I do not know your world, I am a stranger here.  The man
who did this to you is my enemy.  I have to find him and rescue Cherry from
him.  Can you guide me?’

‘Yes, anything, but where will they have
gone?’

‘I don’t know.  Did he not say anything
before he shot you?’

‘No, nothing.’

‘Then, is there anywhere a stranger would
go?’

‘I don’t know.  The Haham would be able to
help you.’

‘The Haham?’

‘He is the most knowledgeable of our
rabbis.  It was he who said that you will come.’

‘Did he?  Then he knows far more than I. 
Can you take me to this Haham?’

‘I can but it is a far journey.  Far and
difficult.’

‘Difficult?’

‘Yes, he lives with his servants on an
island across the Lake of Forgetfulness.  A boat crosses but rarely.  It is
impossible to swim.’

The Lake of Forgetfulness?  It sounded
like something from a fairy tale but all told that was just what he was living;
a fairy tale, but one that had come very darkly to life.

‘All right.  Take me as far as you can.  We
must leave as soon as possible.’

‘Then, let us sleep till the morrow.  I do
not wish to venture out in the dark.’

Jake concurred.  The Beast was still out
there, whatever it was.  As magic as he had become, he did not relish the
prospect of meeting the thing without more knowledge at his disposal.  For that
he would have to meet the Haham.  Hopefully tomorrow he would learn some
answers.

It was the first night that Jake was not
troubled by nightmares of the creature.  He assumed that whilst he was away from
Earth he was beyond Lapski’s voodoo link.  For all that, however, he still did
not have a good night’s sleep.  There was no spare bed and the floor was just
bare boards.  Also, Faivish spent most of the night quietly sobbing. 
Presumably, at the loss of his other half.

That was an amazing relationship, Jake
marvelled.  A person with two heads, each with its own personality and
identity.  The nearest analogy he could imagine was the case of Siamese twins,
but here things were far more advanced.  It must be so difficult for poor
Faivish without the constant companionship of his enjoined twin.  Jake found it
impossible to imagine what it must be like to have such a close dependence on
someone.  The concept was so alien.

There were a number of other things that
were quite puzzling.  How did Faivish know of our world?  He had spoken of
other visitors and it seemed that he could see events on Earth as they
occurred.  And another thing.  The culture of Faivish’s people seemed to mirror
that of the Jews who lived in Eastern Europe during the nineteenth century. 
From the few bodies that Jake had seen he knew that the men wore hats or large
black skull caps and their clothing was typical of what Jake knew of that
period; right down to their
tzitzit
; the strings that dropped from their
garments.

Had this society developed on its own or
was it copied from Earth?  Faivish did not know or would not tell.  It was
something that Jake would have to ask the Haham in due course.

When day finally broke it was clear that
it was going to be bright and sunny in a way that Jake guessed would be typical
of this place. 

Faivish, when he arose, did not mention
his troubled night and Jake decided to leave the matter well alone.  His was a
private grief, after all.

Faivish started the day by saying his
morning prayers in the manner of a devout Jew and then he prepared a light
breakfast of bread and butter, followed by a brown milky liquid that defied
description.  It seemed, however, to be a poor attempt to mimic coffee. 
Faivish then prepared a sackcloth bag that he filled with provisions for the
journey.

‘We shall ride,’ he informed his
companion, ‘It’ll be quicker.’

Jake gulped, ‘Ride, ride what?  I can’t
ride.’

Faivish laughed, ‘Of course you can ride,
you’ll see.’

Jake tried to hide his anxiety as they
walked across the lush countryside.  He had never ridden before.  He did not
look forward to his first lesson.

‘So, he asked nervously, ‘Where are these
horses of yours?’

‘Who said anything about horses?  Not
far.  We’re almost there.’

And from the near distance their came a
low crooning.  An animal of some description maybe.

‘Awoah,’ shouted Faivish and a swift
insubstantial blur seemed to fill the air, rushing towards them.

There was a snort and, as if by magic, the
animal appeared.  It was like nothing that Jake had ever seen before.  Its head
was cat-like and ferocious with razor sharp fangs but its body seemed to be
swift and sleek in the manner of a gazelle.  Covered in leaf-green fur with
leopard spots from head to tail, the immediate impression was of strength and
power and the ability to move quickly.  So this was to be their mount.  Jake
hoped that it was not as dangerous as it looked.

Faivish put out his hand and the creature
nuzzled its head against it.  Whatever it was, it appeared quite tame, thank
goodness.

‘Come on.  Say hello to Sabre.  She won’t
hurt you.’

Jake reached forward apprehensively.  As
tame as Sabre appeared to be, its mouth was filled with savage incisors like
any member of the large cat family.  This was a predator and Jake did not
relish becoming its prey.

Sabre, however, made no aggressive moves
whatever.  Instead, it allowed Jake to stroke it behind the ears and responded
by giving out a deep guttural purr of pleasure.  Jake smiled.

‘What is he?’

‘She.’

‘Sorry.  She..?’

‘Sabre’s a nalar.’

He pronounced it ‘Nay Lar.’

‘Are all your animals like this?’

‘Like what?’

‘Well, like a sort of cross between
several different natural species.’

‘Ah, Jake.  Remember, you are no longer on
your own world.  What may be fantastic there is normal here.  Come, we must get
moving.  It is a long ride to the lake.’

But Jake was still nervous at the thought
of riding and he looked at the nalar in dismay.  Sabre reacted instantly be
kneeling down until Jake could climb upon her back with ease.  Plainly, she was
intelligent.

Faivish mounted once the animal was
standing and spoke gently into her ear.  At once Jake could feel a spurt of
muscular strength beneath them and they were off, whooshing through the
landscape with a speed that ought to be impossible.

‘Hold on tight.’

But Faivish’s caution was quite
unnecessary.  Jake was grabbing at his companion with a desperation caused both
by fear and exhilaration.  This was going to be the journey of a lifetime.

After about half an hour of travelling
like this, Sabre began to slow.

‘What is it?’

‘Listen.’

And then Jake heard it.  From the far
distance ahead of them was coming a low rumble.

‘Thunder.’

But the real sign that something was wrong
was the quality of the light.  Clear blue sky had been replaced by clouds that
were rapidly building.  First white and wispy and then layer upon layer of
thick dark vapour that formed a veil that completely blotted out the sun.

Shadows of grey and black seemed to
surround them and a chill wind blew in their faces, battering them with the
pressure.  Now everything had taken on a sickly pallor as if the light itself
was being filtered through a haze of mustard.

Sabre stopped and Jake shivered.  He
noticed that Faivish did the same.

‘This is not a good day.  Demons are
abroad.’

‘Demons?’ but Jake could see that Faivish
was serious.

‘The Children of Lilith.  They know you
are here.’

‘Who are they?  What do they want?’

‘You know not of Lilith?’

The name seemed vaguely familiar. 
Something to do with vampires if Jake recalled his folk-lore correctly.

‘For the Chosen One you know so little but
that is true of the closed minds of the inhabitants of your world.  You know
the story of creation; that the Lord created the world in six days and on the
seventh day, Shabbes, he rested.  His final act was to create man.  The Written
Torah states that the man was alone and Hashem created for him a
Help Meet
from his side but that is not the whole story.  When the Almighty created man
he created both male and female.  The male was Adam and the female Lilith but
Lilith was presumptuous and was cast out from the Garden of Eden.  It was only
then that God made Hava; Eve as you call her; and Lilith mated with demons to
produce infernal offspring.  They live in the world of the Arka in Gehinnom but
they can travel freely between the worlds, feeding on the living and swelling
their ranks.  The Children of Lilith visit your world regularly.  You have
never heard of them?’

‘In myth, yes.’

‘But, what is myth?  Is not my world also
mythological?’

Jake smiled.  It was true, of course it
was.  Who was he to talk of myths when he had crossed into a place that he
could only have imagined as legendary?

‘But,’ he asked, ‘Surely they don’t attack
all the time do they?  You have defences?’

Faivish nodded but it was clear that he
was less than happy.

‘Well?’

‘They only come in the dark and they will
hide from the Torah.’

‘So, we are safe.  It is only the
beginning of the day.  There are many hours to nightfall.’

‘No.  I said dark, not night.  As long as
it is dark they can come.’

And, of course, as Jake could see for
himself, there was a storm coming and with a storm there would be black clouds
to hide the sun.  So that was why Faivish was so fearful.  Now he understood.

‘Listen to me.  This is too important. 
Whatever happens I must find answers.  If only this Haham fellow can help then
I must see him soon.  If you’re not going to accompany me then give me
directions and I’ll find him for myself.’

‘No.  You will never make it alone.’

‘So, you’ll come.’

Faivish looked down.  It was plain that he
was contemplating a decision that he would rather not have to make.

‘I will come.’

‘Thank you.’

‘I will speak with Sabre.’

The nalar was as upset as her master but
she agreed and they set off again at a steady trot.

Jake could not believe the way the light
had changed.  Now it had taken on what he could only call a jaundiced
appearance.  It was as if the sky itself was ill and Jake wished that he was
far away from here.

The last time he had seen a sky like that
was in London during the last summer, when the forecasters had warned of poor
air quality due to pollution.  Here, where there was no industrialisation,
pollution was quite impossible, but there had to be an explanation.  An
atmospheric disturbance of some description had to be refracting the sun’s rays
but what was it?

It was then that it started to rain.  Just
a fine warm drizzle at first.  Nothing unbearable but at the same time the
distant drum roll was an ominous precursor of things to come.

‘Can we avoid the storm, go round it?’

‘We could try.  But we must take care. 
The Desert of Peace is before us if we stray too far from our route.  It’s a
place of desolation where no-one can survive for more than a few hours without
water, but that may be our only alternative.  No storm will cross that desert.’

Faivish spoke to Sabre and they changed
direction; but it was to no avail.  The storm still confronted them.  Maybe
Faivish was right.  Maybe it was being consciously controlled.

They continued as the air became thicker,
humid, dark.

The rain grew fiercer.

It was then that Jake noticed the smell. 
A pungent odour reminiscent of urine and then he realised that it emanated from
the liquid itself.  Yellow and putrid, it was this that had so coloured the
clouds.  The term ‘acid rain’ was one that came to mind in an awfully literal
manner.  As if to prove the assessment the very next drop that touched Jake’s
hand provided an instant sting and he looked at the small wound in horror.

‘We’d better find shelter.  If this gets
any worse, we’ll be in trouble.’

‘No, Jake.  That’s just what they want.’

And Jake knew that his friend was right. 
For whatever reason the children of Lilith were opposed to his quest and they
would do anything to prevent him.  But he had to fight back somehow.  It would
soon be impossible to proceed through this weather.  He had to do something.

Jake looked at his ring.

As if in answer it glowed back at him,
steady and red.

‘Please Lord, protect us from this evil.’

The stone became stronger, its light
growing into a ball of ethereal orange that expanded to envelope them in its
magical embrace.  Again they were safe, and Sabre picked up speed.

A crack of thunder like a whiplash filled
the air with deafening reverberations to be followed by a fork of blazing
lightning that struck the ground immediately before them as if it had been
aimed deliberately.

As warm as the air was they all shivered
and watched as the sky turned from yellow to full black.

Something shrieked.

A cry from the wind itself.

‘The Children of Lilith.  They come.’

Blinding electricity filled the air and,
in its glow, Jake thought that he could make out shapes.  Inhuman shapes that
writhed and wriggled but had no substance.  These then were Lilith’s demon
offspring.

And, again, they were plunged into total
darkness.  They could see nothing beyond the radius of their own red light but
they could sense the presence.  They were surrounded by evil.  Unseen, the
demons were everywhere.  Biding their time, waiting, waiting.

‘Come on Sabre,’ Jake urged, ‘Run like
you’ve never run before.  It’s our only chance.’

And suddenly Sabre leapt into the air with
a speed that made even its initial pace slow by comparison.  Tearing through
the dreamlike vista they charged, ignoring every sound, every sight that the
vampire spirits sent to hinder them.

Rushing madly ahead, just relying on
instinct for direction they sped onwards, away from the forces of night that
threatened to take them, knowing that their enemies were so close behind.

Crack, came another burst and the sky lit
with a sheet of blinding static.

Crash.  And the electricity made their
hair stand on end.

But they ignored it all.  Escape was the
only thing on their minds.  Escape and salvation.

And then, when it seemed that the storm
would never abate, they saw it; a clear blue sky and it was to that they
headed; but Faivish was still unhappy.

‘What is it?’

‘It is what I was afraid about.  The
Desert of Peace.  The Children of Lilith cannot follow us here but...’

Sabre, however, made one gallant effort
and galloped into the daylight and then they were there.  The storm far
behind.  They dismounted on a barren and rocky plateau that seemed to lead to
an endless expanse of sand.

‘The Desert of Peace.  It is but a few
miles across until we reach the lake but it might as well be the other side of
the world.’

‘But why?  We’ve brought water haven’t
we?  If we use it sparingly, surely we’ll be all right.’

‘No Jake.  Do not think of deserts of your
world.  They are as nothing compared to this.  There is no water here at all. 
No liquid whatever can exist in this place for long.  Even the air is dry and
will absorb the moisture from your skin.  Your body will be dehydrated long
before we reach the Lake.  Whilst I have brought some water I did not envisage
a desert crossing.  I doubt if we have enough.  Take a drink now.’