Jerusalem Man 01 - Wolf in Shadow Read Free Page A

in the night.'
    ‘The Bible city?'
    'The very same.'
    'It is not about here, Mr Shannow. Why do you seek it?'
    He smiled. 'I have been asked that question many, many times and I cannot answer it. It is a need I carry - an obsession, if you will. When the earth toppled and the oceans swelled, all became chaos. Our history is lost to us and we no longer know from whence we come, nor where we are going. In Jerusalem there will be answers, and my soul will rest.'
    'It is very dangerous to wander, Mr Shannow. Especially in the wild lands beyond Rivervale.'
    The lands are not wild, Lady - at least, not for a man who knows their ways. Men are wild and they create the wild lands wherever they are. But I am a known man and I am rarely troubled.'
    'Are you known as a war-maker?'
    'I am known as a man war-makers should avoid.'
    'You are playing with words.'
    'No, I am a man who loves peace.'
    'My husband was a man of peace.'
    ‘Was?’
    Donna opened the stove door and added several chunks of wood. She sat for some time staring into the flames, and Shannow did not disturb the silence. At last she looked up at him.
    'My husband is dead,' she said. 'Murdered.'
    'By Brigands?'
    'No, by the Committee. They . . .'
    'No!' screamed Eric, standing in the bedroom doorway in his white cotton nightshirt. 'It's not true.
    He's alive! He's coming home - I know he's coming home.'
    Donna Taybard ran to her son, burying his weeping face against her breast. Then she led him back into the bedroom and Shannow was alone. He strolled into the night. The sky was without stars, but the moon shone bright through a break in the clouds. Shannow scratched his head, feeling the dust and grit on his scalp. He removed his woollen jerkin and undershirt and washed in a barrel of clear water, scrubbing the dirt from his hair.
    Donna walked out to stand on the porch and watch him. His shoulders seemed unnaturally broad against the slim-ness of his waist and hips. Silently she moved away from the house to the stream at the bottom of the hill. Here she slipped out of her clothes and bathed in the moonlight, rubbing lemon mint leaves across her skin.
    When she returned Jon Shannow was asleep in the comfort chair, his guns once more belted to his waist. She moved silently past him to her room and locked the door. As the key turned, Shannow opened his eyes and smiled.
    Where to tomorrow, Shannow, he asked himself?
    Where else?
    Jerusalem.

    Shannow awoke soon after dawn and sat listening to the sounds of morning. He was thirsty and moved to the pump-room for a mug of water. Behind the door was an oval mirror framed in golden pine and he stood staring at his reflection. The eyes were deep-set and dark blue, the face triangular above a square jaw. As he had feared, his hair was showing grey, though his beard was still dark on the cheeks with a silver fork at the chin.
    He finished his drink and moved outside to the porch and his saddlebags. Having found his razor and stropped it for several minutes, he returned to the mirror and cut away his beard. Donna Taybard found him there and watched in mild amusement as he tried to trim his long hair.
    'Sit out on the porch, Mr Shannow. I am expecting some friends today, and I think I should make you look presentable.'
    With long-handled scissors and a bone comb she worked expertly at the tangled mess, complimenting him on the absence of lice.
    'I move too fast for them, and I swim when I can.'
    'Is that short enough for you?' she asked, stepping back to admire her handiwork. He ran his hand through his hair and grinned - almost boyishly, she thought.
    ‘That will suffice, Fray Taybard. . . Donna. Thank you. You said you were expecting friends?'
    'Yes, some neighbours are coming over to celebrate Harvest. It was arranged before Tomas . . .
    disappeared, but I told them to come anyway. I'm hoping they will be able to help me with the Committee - but I doubt they will ... all have their own problems. You are welcome to stay. There will