Outside the Gates of Eden

Ronald A. Williams

Description

Archaeologist Andreas Prescod and his high priestess wife Eurydice fight to save the world in a tumultuous battle between gods, mortals, and their own places in prophecy.

Andreas Prescod is a disgraced archeologist when he discovers a hidden civilization in Antarctica. It turns out this discovery was predicted by prophecy, but it also initiates conflict between the world above and that in Antarctica.

Realities collide as the prophecy, directed by three superior beings worshipped as gods, starts to be fulfilled. That development places Andreas and his wife Eurydice at the center of the impending conflict as a three-way battle begins between gods and two worlds.

Third in the First People Saga, Outside the Gates of Eden continues the story of Andreas and Eurydice’s struggle to save a world threatened by war and very powerful gods.

Sujets

• African American
• Fiction
• Fantasy

Informations

• Publié par: Archway Publishing
• Date de parution: 08 novembre 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781665729369
• Langue: English

Extrait

Other books by Ronald A. Williams
Four Saints and an Angel
A Death in Panama
A Voice from the Tomb
The Butterflies’ Coat
The Dark Land
Eurydice’s Song
The Fall of Autumn Leaves
Outside THE Gates OF Eden
 
BOOK THREE OF THE FIRST PEOPLE SAGA
 
 
 
RONALD A. WILLIAMS
AUTHOR OF THE FALL OF AUTUMN LEAVES
 
 

 
 
Copyright © 2022 Ronald A. Williams.
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, locations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
 
 
Archway Publishing
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.archwaypublishing.com
844-669-3957
 
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
 
ISBN: 978-1-6657-2935-2 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6657-2934-5 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-6657-2936-9 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2022916147
 
 
Archway Publishing rev. date: 11/07/2022
Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Epilogue
 
Prologue
N otah Bitsoi moved quickly through the moon-illuminated desert night, his steps sure. To the left, he could hear them, and his heartbeat quickened. They had moved faster than he anticipated. Notah made a slight adjustment, bearing to his right, away from the steps that he could hear as clearly as if the men were right next to him. They were clumsy, and every so often, one of them stumbled. A man cursed softly, and Notah smiled, moving noiselessly in the night. They would not find him. These were city men from Alberquerque, he believed, and they were not accustomed to the desert where his people had lived for half a millennium.
Still, I am the one running , he thought grimly.
His feet, as if having eyes of their own, avoided the loose shale in his path, seeking a less noisy way. Suddenly, he froze, his right foot poised. Something had moved, and Notah reached out, his every sense searching the air and ground. His breath was stilled. Then, he started as a hesitant rattle identified the cause of his alarm. Moving his foot back, he reversed course as the rattlesnake slid away.
Go, my brother , Notah thought, saluting the snake. We are the same, and we have no home.
For several minutes, he continued to drift to his right, the muted sounds of the men on his left a guide. They moved to the right as well. Maybe they were not so clumsy after all. He abruptly stopped. They had moved with him.
A tendril of worry slid into his mind. They should not have been able to hear him if they were as clumsy as he thought. Notah lay, his ear to the hard ground of the desert floor. It was flat, rubbed to an even consistency by the flash floods that had become more frequent. For a long time, he listened. Then, he sat cross-legged, breathing evenly. These were not clumsy men from the city. These were killers, and he was trapped. To his right, he heard them, four men who were so still he had not been aware of them. He saw nothing in this night of death, but they were there. The three to his left had purposely pushed him toward the waiting men on his right. Slowly letting the air out of his lungs, Notah thought. He could not die there. He had to get to Santa Fe to warn the Council. Stoltz’s Raiders had come, and the delegates were dead. The Council needed to know that nothing, no one, was safe. Then, maybe they would make a decision.
To his right, he heard the low tones and began to get a picture of big men who spoke with deep voices. Sure of him now, they were no longer worried. Notah was angry, feeling a deep hatred of Eric Stoltz, the man whom his brethren called Ghost Death. He pulled the Ruger P345 from his buckskin coat pocket and slid the long knife from the sheath stitched to his elkskin boot. When he jacked the live round into the gun’s chamber, its sound filled the night. It was unmistakable, and the other sounds were stilled.
Now they know , he thought with a grim smile. I will not go quietly into the good night.
The three men to his left moved closer, but still he sat, cross-legged, his breathing slowed, marking their positions. He would probably die there, but Notah’s only regret was that he might die in vain, that he might not be able to persuade his people. Sooner or later, word would get out about the massacre, but those in Santa Fe would dither, using every excuse not to decide, not to act. His friends Anne Ernsky and Rene had given him this task: bring those among his peole who would come to the east, the starting point for the relocation to Africa. He had had little success. Notah sighed and immediately chastised himself. There were more immediate problems.
When the attack came, it was swift and professional, but he waited. Then, a shot buzzed by him, and he returned fire, hearing a curse in the darkness. He shot again and missed. The four on the right moved swiftly, silently forward, and their dark shapes were in his mind. Their movements were precise, and he shot but hit nothing.
These are experts , he thought. They are drawing my fire on purpose.
He was not aware of how many times he had fired until the sharp clack of the empty chamber told him he was in trouble. Not expecting an attack, he had brought only one clip. Dropping the warm gun, he grabbed the knife, every muscle in his body taut. They came slowly, approaching him the way a hunter approaches a wounded grizzly. He was still a threat, but they knew that he would die there. Shapes were in front of him. Six. At least, he had gotten one of them. They began to advance in a skirmish line.
Inconsequentially, he thought, Definitely military.
He held the knife low, hoping they would come close, but these men were too smart for that. Ten yards away, they stopped, looking like a firing squad. Notah turned the knife in his hand, grasping the tip. Maybe he could take someone out with a throw.
He was just tensing to fling the knife when his blood ran cold. Behind the six men, an animal of some kind reared up on its hind legs. It was short but big. God, it was big! It jumped into the air, its hind legs swiftly snapping in and out. Notah did not think to count the number of times it struck, but his stomach turned as he heard bones break. The creature landed, then leapt sideways as the men tried desperately to bring their guns to bear. They were moving so slowly. Way too slowly, and the creature was in the air again, those impossibly powerful hind legs flying. Two more men fell. Only two were left, and their heads snapped about as they tried to find the attacker, some instinct bringing the guns up. Notah, not sure why he did it, threw the knife. There was an abbreviated scream as the man closest to him died, a gurgle in his throat. The other man turned to see what had happened to his partner. It was the last thing he saw, for the creature launched itself, its feet rigidly pointed. When they made contact, Notah heard the cracking sound of the man’s chest plate collapsing.
All was still. The creature walked quickly from one body to the next, making sure no threat remained. Slowly, it stood erect. Notah felt a chill in his bones as the creature moved toward him, covering the ground with short, powerful strides. He stood, accepting his death, a prayer to the Great Spirit on his lips. The creature chuckled.
“Hello, Dream Stalker.”
Notah’s knees weakened with relief, and he sat abruptly.
Chapter 1
I n another desert on the other side of the world, a figure stumbled and then leaned heavily on a staff. He was long-haired and bearded. Salt sat in flecks on his face. Lifting his head to the sky, which was cloudy, he gazed at the bright luminescence that gave evidence of a light source somewhere behind the mist. Then he looked at the four corners of his world. It was a frightening landscape of white sand that stretched in every direction. So flat that he could see for miles, the view only emphasi