Praetorian Series [3] A Hunter and His Legion (50 page)

“Your
stomach will settle momentarily,” Agrippina reported, and I found myself thankful that, for once, it wasn’t just me being affected by some outside influence.

When we arrived at the door
, I couldn’t help but notice all but one of Agrippina’s Praetorians stayed firmly where they were.  Whether they were scared, superstitious, or simply planning something treacherous, I didn’t know, but for some reason I envied them.  This place was, simply put, odd.

Agrippina point
ed at the door.  “As you can see, the door is made of simple wooden planks arranged vertically.  There is no handle or other form of entrance device, nor does it seem to be latched from the inside, but I assure you none of my men have been able to pry it open.”

“No shit
?”  Santino whispered, amazed.

“And
there is this…” Agrippina said.

T
aking a torch from the Praetorian next to her, she threw it on the roof, but I barely had time to register the action, let alone stop her, before it was sailing through the air.

“Why the
hell would you…” but then the torch landed on the roof and did…

Nothing.

The seemingly flammable material that made up the cottage’s roof didn’t even spark.  Not a reed or branch or whatever it was seemed to even notice.  The torch simply sat atop the roof and burned itself but nothing else.

“That’s impossible,” Artie whispered.

“Yeah,” Santino said, “but so is time travel.”

We all turned to look
at him nervously but no one said anything.  My mind was blank at the moment and I found myself speechless, and my friends didn’t seem much better off. 

Finally, after minutes of silence, I turned to Agrippina.
  “Is it okay if I speak privately with my friends for a few minutes?”

She gestured
toward them with a hand.  “Please.”

I shook my head at her politeness, still not quite believing this wasn’t actually Agrippina’s doppelganger –
the good one.  I reeled Felix around and faced my friends, but looked at Boudicca first.

“Do you mind?”

She simply nodded, clearly not happy about being left out of the conversation but perhaps understanding we couldn’t completely trust Agrippina.  I nodded my thanks and switched to English.

“So?”  I asked.

“We’ve reached an all new low,” Santino said helpfully.

“Won’t get any argument from me,” I mumbled.

“Who do you think is in there?”  Archer asked.  “Or what?”

I shrugged.  “Could be anything.  Or anyone.  I mean, it could actually turn out
to be some legitimate ancient Druid that still has some magical abilities that our modern world has simply forgotten.  That or it could be…”

“My bet’s on Yoda,” Santino offered.

I rolled my eyes but I wasn’t about to rule it out. 

Archer just looked confused.  “Who?”

Santino’s eyes went wide and then sad.  He placed a hand on Archer’s shoulder consolingly.  “There are times when I truly pity you, Archer.  Truly pity you.  Truly.”  He looked at Artie.  “Did I mention truly?”

She chuckled.  “You did.”

I ignored them and thought, but then noticed only Vincent seemed aloof from the conversation, wrapped in his own thoughts.  He’d been like that for too long, months really, that much I remembered while under the orb’s influence, and I was now absolutely convinced he knew more than he was letting on.

“You have your suspicions, don’t you, Vincent?”  I asked.

It took a while before he finally nodded absently.  “I do.  Ever since Alexandria, learning the things that we’ve learned, seeing the things that we’ve seen, going to the places we’ve gone, it’s like we’ve been acting out a story from a book I’ve already read before.”

“So
do you know who’s in there?”  I asked impatiently.

“I don’t know anything, but
as you said, I have my suspicions.”

“And you still won’t tell me?”

His smile grew wider.  “Sorry, no spoilers.”

Santino laughed hysterically and raised a hand in the air, which Vincent quickly high fived, something I never thought I’d ever live to see.  He chuckled now himself, looking very much like an old man who was taking too much enjoyment out of knowing something his grandchildren simply could not understand, and think
ing him crazy for it.

“I’m so confused,” Archer chimed in.

I dropped my head, realizing none of them were going to be of any help.  Whoever or whatever was in there didn’t seem able to go anywhere without us knowing it, and the mystery wasn’t going to solve itself, so I turned back to Agrippina.  “So why bring me here?”

“Because I believe this to be the source of all your answers.  Where Marcus Varus always intended for you to go.  W
here the Druids on Mona sent you.  And where I believe your destiny lies.”

“And what’s it to you?”  I finally asked.

She reeled back in annoyance before answering.  “While I no longer feel the desire to destroy you, Jacob Hunter, the sooner I am rid of you the better.  I wish you to go home just as much as you do.”

“M
hmm,” I hummed, still suspicious.  She certainly was singing a different tune this time than when we’d last met.  “I’m sure.”

“Believe what you want,” she said, “but I did bring you here, did I not?”

“I suppose you did,” I answered, although that was hardly comforting.  “So now what?”

“Go inside.”

“Just like that?”

She glanced at the door.  “I haven’t any idea, but if my suspicions are correct, then going inside should be as easy as a…
what was it you once said to me… a walk in the park for you.”

I shook my head but
hopped off Felix all the same.  I looked at Agrippina as I walked past her toward the door.  “I’ll give you one thing.  At least you pay attention to the things I say.”

She smiled and lowered her head in acknowledgment of the compliment. 

I looked away and thought to toss Felix’s reins to Archer, but then another thought popped into my head.  Sheepishly, I turned back to Agrippina and held out the reins for her to take.  She looked at me knowingly, and accepted them

“Here,” I said.  “I… uh… want to thank you for loaning your horse to me.  He’s been the best.”

Agrippina smiled and pulled Felix in close to her so that she could stroke his mane.  “This one always had been my favorite, Jacob, but since you’ve ‘owned’ him longer than I by now, consider him a gift.”

I was further surprised at her answer, but didn’t want to risk changing her mind, so
I glanced back at my friends and my sister one last time, each of them offering me gestures of reassurance.  I nodded in thanks and turned back to the door.

It was close now, only an arm
’s span away, but I felt an unexpected energy around the door, like some kind of invisible barrier I had to force myself through.  It didn’t seem particularly resilient, but at the same time, it was like trying to push my way through Jell-O, and the more I pushed, the less progress I made.

It
didn’t hurt, but it seemed impenetrable.

I turned to look up at Agrippina, who
had backed away considerably along with the rest of them.

“Good plan,” I commented.

“I suspected it might not work,” Agrippina said, “even for you, but there is one last thing I suggest trying before we abandon this place.”

“What’s that?”

She gestured to the Praetorian beside her, who then rode up to me and placed a round object in my hands.  I accepted the gift but as soon as my hands made contact with it, I dropped it and recoiled away, shooting a venomous look at Agrippina.

“Why would you give that back to me!?”  I demanded.

“A simple test,” she said casually.  “Tell me, Jacob, do you feel its draw now?”

My friends looked between us nervously, each of them knowing exactly what the orb c
ould and probably would do to me if I reconnected with it, but Agrippina’s question was an interesting one because I didn’t actually feel anything.  I glanced down at the object wrapped in cloth but felt nothing.  Cautiously, I leaned down and picked it up, and carefully unwrapped the cloth from around it, finding that the orb seemed more inert than I’d ever seen it before.

“I don’t actually,” I finally replied, still looking at the orb.

“Then perhaps this structure is even more powerful than we suspected.  And beneficial.”

I looked back at her.  “You gambled with something m
ore powerful than even you know!  I was
this
close to the edge last time!”

“It was an educated gue
ss,” she said without concern.

“Based on what?”  I demanded, but she didn’t answer.

Frustrated, I looked back at the orb and turned it over in my hands, noticing that it really did look like nothing more than a blue bowling ball lacking its telltale holes.

I whirled my head back
toward the door, and with a surge of confidence, approached it once again, but my care was unwarranted.  The door’s defenses were down, and my hand moved towards its wooden planks without resistance until I felt the smooth contours and warmth of what felt like freshly cut wood.

I looked back at Agrippina.  “Want to come?”

She shook her head.  “I do not think I was meant to.”

I craned my neck further to look at my friends.  “And you
guys?”

“Not on your fucking life,” Santino muttered and Archer was nodding in
agreement.

Boudicca
remained behind them all, appearing upset, but perhaps understanding this wasn’t her journey either.

I looked at Artie, and spoke to her in English.  “You’re just as connected to the orb as I am.  This could be you just as easily as me.”

“I… can’t,” she said, her voice quivering.  “I’m terrified, Jacob.  I’m terrified just being here.  I can’t believe how calm you are, but you always were the brave one.  Stupidly brave, yeah, but still brave.  I could never do what you do, and there’s no way I can go in there now.”

“
You’re
afraid?”  I jeered.  “I thought you used to strap rockets to your ass and blast yourself into space all the time!”

Artie’s eyes narrowed.  “Space, Jacob?  That’s absurd.”

I caught myself before I let my jaw hit the floor as I was once again reminded of how different Artie 2.0 was, and just little I actually knew about her even still.  The idea of Artie not being an astronaut was almost too much to handle, but I did everything I could to pull myself back together.

“Are you sure
you don’t want to come?”

“
Just be careful, Jacob,” Artie said nervously.

I nodded and finally looked to Vincent.  “Last chance
, old man.”

He smirked.  “
I’ll silently echo Santino’s sentiments on the matter, but I will at least give you this.”

He tossed me a crumpled up piece of paper, which I caught in my left hand.  I looked at it but didn’t attempt to open it, looking back to Vincent instead.

“You’ll know when to open it, Jacob,” he said, his smile supportive and proud now.

“
Will I be all right, Vincent?”  I asked.

H
is smile vanished.  “I think so.  Just… remember Helena and your son, and you’ll come back.”

I nodded.  Good enough for me.

I turned back to the door, and with a deep breath to steel my nerves, pushed it open and stepped inside.

***

The first sensation I felt was pain, the second nausea again.

I doubled over as
my intestines seemed to knot themselves in a way that made them impossible to untangle, while my body attempted to expel them at the same time, but the only thing my stomach managed to lose was my breakfast.  It came out unceremoniously and left a nasty taste in my mouth, but once it was gone, I felt immediately better.  It was the second time I’d vomited in as many days, and both times had felt surprisingly wonderful.

Still doubled over, I gagged a couple of times and spit
out whatever had gathered in my mouth to the ground.  It was then that I noticed the floor wasn’t exactly what I expected it to be.  Instead of grass or snow, the floor was black, smooth, and slippery looking, so slick that it seemed a simple wrong step would send me sliding across the floor.  I carefully tested this theory with a boot, but found that there was no risk of slippage at all.

“All right,” I managed to say around gags an
d coughs.  “Let’s say I buy that…”

After on
e last cough, I found it within myself to straighten and look around.  I tried to locate the door I’d literally just stepped through, but found it missing.  Frantically, I looked everywhere for it, but all my search revealed was more darkness.  In fact, I saw
literally
nothing, finally taking notice of the fact that it was completely dark in the cottage, not a single stray beam of light from outside penetrating within, obscuring even my hand in front of my face.