Read Jerusalem Man 02 - The Last Guardian for Free Online

prayed hard and I know the Great One was speaking through me.'
    'The Law of One is no more, my friend. The Sons of Belial have the ears of the King. How is Pashad?'
    'I ordered her to denounce me this morning, and seek, the severing of the Knot. She at least will be safe, as will my sons.'
    'No one is safe, Nu. No one. The King is insane, the slaughter has begun... even as you prophesied it. There is madness in the streets - and these Daggers fill me with terror.'
    'There is worse to come,' Nu told him sadly. 'In my prayer dreams I have seen terrible sights: three suns in the sky at one time, the heavens tearing, and the seas rising to swamp the clouds. I know it is close, Bali, and I am powerless to prevent it.'
    'Many men have dreams that do not presage evil days,' said Bali.
    Nu shook his head. 'I know this. But my dreams have all come true so far. The Lord of All Things is sending these visions. I know he has ordered me to warn the people, and I know also that they will ignore me. But it is not for me to question His purpose.'
    Bali poured another goblet of wine and said nothing. Nu-Khasisatra had always been a man of iron principles and faith, devout and honest. Bali liked and respected him. He did not share his principles, but he had come to know his God - and for that gift alone, he would give his life for the shipbuilder.
    Opening a hidden drawer below the table, he removed a small purse of embroidered deerskin. For a moment he held it, reluctant to part with it, then he smiled and pushed it across the table.
    'For you, my friend,' he said. Nu picked it up and felt the warmth emanating from within the purse. Then he opened it with trembling fingers and tipped out the Stone within. It was not a fragment but a whole Stone, round as if polished, golden with thin black veins. He closed his hand around it, feeling the power surging in him. Gently he placed it on the table top and gazed at the bald, elderly man before him.
    'With this you could be young again, Bali. You could live for a thousand years. Why? Why would you give it to me?'
    'Because you need it, Nu. And because I never had a friend before.'
    'But it is worth perhaps ten times as much money as is contained in the entire city. I could not possibly accept it.'
    'You must. It is life. Trie Daggers are seeking you and you know what that means. Torture and death. They have closed the city and you cannot escape, save by the Journey. There is a gateway within the stone circle the princes used to use, to the north of the seventh square. You know it?
    By the crystal lake? Good. Go there. Use these words and hold the Stone high.' He passed Nu a small square of parchment.
    'The Enchantment will take you to Balacris. From there you will be on your own.'
    'I have funds in Balacris,' said Nu, 'but the Lord wants me to stay and continue to warn the people.'
    'You gave me the secret of the Great One,' Bali told him, 'and I accept His will overrides any wishes of our own. But similarly you have done as He commanded. You gave your warnings, but their ears were closed to you. Added to this, Nu my friend, I prayed for a way in which I might help you, and now this Stone has come into my possession. And yes, I wanted to keep it, but the Great One touched me and let me know it was for you.'
    'How did you come by it?'
    'An Achean trader brought it to my shop. He thought it was a gold nugget and wished to sell it to me in return for the money to buy a new sail.'

    'A sail? With this you could buy a thousand sails, perhaps more.'
    'I told him it was worth half the price of a sail, and he sold it to me for sixty pieces of silver.' Bali shrugged. 'It was with such dealings that I first became rich. You must go now. The Daggers surely know we are friends.'
    'Come with me, Bali,' Nu urged. 'With this Stone we could reach my new ship. We could sail far from the reach of the King and his Daggers.'
    'No. My place is here. My life is here. My death will be here.' Bali rose and led the way to the