“Do not take this lightly, Jonas. You have now come to realize the world is more than what you thought. I am an Archaic, there are many more… species outside the human world; Vrajitoareas, the wolf people, vampires, the undead…”
“Whoa!” he said, holding up his hand. “I’m having enough trouble dealing with your Archaic pals. I’ve read Van Helsing…”
“You are not listening to me! You have more to worry about than my ‘Archaic pals’!” She nearly spat the words at him.
“And you’ve got a lot to learn about Chee. He’s not a Vera… whatever…”
“Jonas. I am an Archaic. I have been alive for nearly fifteen hundred years. I was a widow, taken in a raid on my village by Archaics. Our society is not structured like yours. We live by rules of strength and guile. Your people, people like Chee, are the ones who found the ways to kill us. To drive us into the mountains and force us to live as we have the past few centuries. Why is that so hard for you to accept?”
“Whoa. Why are you so angry all of a sudden? All I’m sayin’ is Chee is just a man, like me…”
“No! He is not like you, Jonas,” she was angrier now, getting off the bed and putting on her clothes. “Yes, he is a human, but he has a connection to the world that you don’t. And if you are smart, if you live through this, you will be wise to remember that there are far more things in this world that can kill you, not just Archaics or humans… or grizzly bears!”
“Look,” he said, trying to calm her. “I’m trying to understand here…”
“No, you are not,” she declared, fastening the buttons on her blouse.
“Listen to me, I believe you…” He tried to placate her.
“You do not believe me, Jonas Hollister. You have seen plenty of my kind. You have killed them, watched what they can do, and yet you consider me crazy because I tell you of witches and wolf people and vampires and that your man Chee is a witch?”
“Whoa! I didn’t mean…” He stepped toward her and tried to take her in his arms. He didn’t want to fight with her. But she was too quick and dodged away from him. She glared at him and left his bunk, gone so fast it was almost like she’d never been there.
Chapter Sixty-five
Hollister found Chee in the armory. Since it was in between his bunk and the guest quarters, where Shaniah was supposed to be sleeping, he wondered how she had gotten past Chee without his seeing her. He guessed it didn’t matter though, because according to Shaniah, he already knew about them.
“Chee, we’ve only known each other a short time. And its become clear to me you know a lot of things about the world that I don’t,” Jonas said.
“I’m not sure I understand, sir,” Chee said.
“You know things. When Van Helsing was here, not a lot of what he told us surprised you. You knew about Deathwalkers, as you called them. And you’ve got that Chinese fighting style and…”
“Kung fu, sir,” he said.
“Yes… Kung fu. My point is that a lot of what we’ve learned about these Archaics and the other things we’ve seen hasn’t appeared to surprise you,”
“I suppose not, sir,” he said.
“Why is that?”
Chee shrugged. “Maybe it is just how I was raised,” he said. “I grew up in New Orleans. I am… my grandparents were… from many cultures. My grandmother Annabel was a former slave, born in Haiti. Her husband, my grandfather Lu Chi-it was misspelled on the deed of the first property he was allowed to buy-was from China; my mother’s father was half Cajun and half Mexican, and my other grandmother was a full-blooded Creek Indian.”
“So you’re saying…” Hollister said.
“I’ve learned from many cultures. What may seem strange to someone is not so strange to me,” he said. “Some believe when we die we are gone. Others say there are ways for the dead to return, as spirits, and through voodoo, which is a type of witchcraft my grandmother Annabel often spoke of. My grandfather Lu Chi believed death was a doorway. It could be opened and closed and walked through both ways. There are many ways of understanding and examining the other worlds we call heaven, hell, the afterlife. Some are different, some are the same, but it all depends on the culture and your point of view. But if the question you are asking me is if I believe in these things, my answer is yes. And hasn’t what we’ve seen given proof to it?”
Hollister smiled. Chee had talked to him about something personal for almost an entire minute. It might have been the longest conversation he had had with his sergeant. He looked at him with a rueful grin.
“Well, did all those grandparents teach you anything about understanding women?” Hollister said.
“No, sir, I don’t think any culture has an answer for that question, sir,” Chee said.
Hollister thought he might be joking, but the expression on Chee’s face was always the same so it was hard for Jonas to tell.
“Shaniah has told me some things, about other creatures, like these Archaics, witches, and what she called wolf people and-”
“Werewolves,” Chee interrupted.
“Yeah, werewolves. Bad enough I’ve got super-strong, nearly indestructible Archaics on my ass, now I got to go to sleep at night worrying if Monkey Pete or somebody else I know is going to turn into a wolf at the next full moon and come after me like I’m a walking pork chop.”
“I don’t believe Monkey Pete is a werewolf, sir.”
Hollister gave a derisive snort. “How can we be sure of anything?”
“Well for one, Dog would know, sir. And he likes Monkey Pete.”
“Dog would… of course. Dog would know. Damn dog is probably the smartest one of us on this damn train,” Hollister muttered. “Anyway, it’s past sunrise, I should have relieved you. I’m sorry about that, Chee.”
“No worries, Major. I don’t sleep much anyway,” Chee said, almost cheerfully. “Besides, I think Monkey Pete is ready to show us something.”
Hollister started toward the door of the car, but Chee stopped him.
“Major, since we are on the subject of witches and wolf people and whatnot, I feel there is something I must tell you,” Chee said.
“What is it?” Hollister asked, slightly surprised. This was the first time Hollister could remember Chee offering an opinion or a statement without being asked.
“The woman, Shaniah, you are with her now…” Chee hesitated. Hollister said nothing, realizing there was no sense in denying it. Shaniah had been right. Chee knew.
“Go on,” Hollister said hesitantly.
“She is different. Not just because she is an Archaic, but even among them, she… has power,” he said.
“What kind of power?” Hollister asked.
“I’m not sure I can explain it, sir. She could kill us easily if she wanted to, but she has not. In fact, she has gone out of her way to help us. At great personal risk. Yet she is holding something back. I do not yet determine what it is. She is dangerous. I wish I could tell you why this is, but I can’t. I simply know it. She is not like the Archaics in some important way. It may be the very reason she is here.”
“I’m sure she is holding something back, I don’t doubt it. But she doesn’t seem dangerous to me. I… she… when…” Hollister stumbled over the words.
Chee held up his hand. “Do not worry, and do not try to explain, I understand your confusion. But, Major… I will be watching her,” Chee said.
“I guess that’s probably not a bad idea,” he said.
“And, Major, if I see she is… if she looks to be ready to betray us, to turn on one of us for any reason or to threaten you in any way, I will kill her.”
Hollister looked at his young sergeant, knowing the man had just told him something that had been hard for him to say. Hollister would not belittle him by arguing the point.
