by Bryan Davis
The Maid’s brow wrinkled. “Why would you ask me such a question? Since you have also escaped that fate, surely you know.”
“We didn’t die to come here,” Sapphira said. “I thought that was the reason.”
The Maid laughed gaily. “Oh, no. That is not the reason. But if I tried to explain the method, surely my words would endanger you, for the seeking of this knowledge would handicap your efforts.”
“But you know the method,” Sapphira said, “and you’re not a statue.”
Bonnie looked down at Sapphira’s feet. Mud again caked her legs from her knees downward. She grabbed Sapphira’s arm and pulled, forcing her to move. As before, the mud crumbled away.
“We should leave now,” Bonnie said. After setting the hourglass in her father’s lap, she laid her hands on his back and pushed. At first, he budged only a few inches, but when Sapphira joined in, the shield glided easily through the woods and out to the river.
When they stopped at the river’s edge, Bonnie stepped around to the front and looked at her father. His head had stopped wobbling, but his eyes looked glassy. “Are you all right?” she asked.
Blinking at her, he whispered, “Bonnie?”
“Yes, Daddy. It’s Bonnie.”
“Is your mother home yet? I made lunch. Grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup.”
Shaking her head, Bonnie dipped a cupped hand into the river and drew out some water. She washed his face with it, though much of the water dribbled down his shirt.
Sapphira carried two handfuls of water and splashed his face. He shook his head hard, slinging drops all around. Then, looking up at Bonnie, he gasped. “The pool! You got out!”
“Welcome back!” She kissed him on the forehead. “Yes, we found a portal that led us to a chamber where dead souls are resurrected from this realm, and we need to get you on the schedule right away.”
“The schedule?”
“To get resurrected.”
Giving her a confused look, he picked up the hourglass. “What’s this?”
“I’ll tell you about it in a minute.” Bonnie grabbed his wrist and hoisted him to his feet. He staggered for a second but quickly gained his balance.
“So …” He kept his focus on the sand running through the hourglass. “If I get resurrected, where would I go?”
“To Second Eden,” Bonnie said. “They need a doctor there, so the dragon wants to transport you.”
“A doctor?” He gave his head a rapid shake. “I haven’t practiced in years, since before you were born.”
Taking his hand, she gazed into his eyes as she spiced her voice with a lamenting tone. “But they need you there. At least you’ll be better than no doctor at all.”
“I’m not so sure of that. Sometimes a bad doctor is worse than no doctor.”
She hooked her arm around her father’s and leaned her head against his shoulder. “Did one of your medical decisions hurt someone?”
He lifted his head and gazed at the sky. For a moment it seemed that he wouldn’t answer at all. Finally, he looked at her, his eyes glistening. “A little girl died. I thought she had the flu, so I sent her home with the usual liquids and bed rest regimen, but it turned out to be bacterial meningitis. Of course, I went to her funeral, and when I walked to the front to express my condolences, her parents wouldn’t even look at me, much less speak.” Shoving his hands into his pockets, he let out a sigh. “I quit my practice the next day. I couldn’t take it. But I swore that I would dedicate the rest of my life to finding ways to stop suffering and somehow cheat death.”
Bonnie looked at the hourglass. There was still plenty of sand at the top. “And that vow led to your experimenting with dragon blood.”
He pushed a hand into his pocket and nodded. “I thought we had found the key to a long and pain-free life, but it wasn’t until the day of my own death that I saw how much suffering I caused you and your mother. I could never make that up to you.”
“Maybe you can.” She pulled him forward. “Come on. This will be a chance to redeem yourself.”
He followed with halting steps. “What do I have to do?”
“When we find the dragon,” Sapphira said, “you have to surrender to him.”
He stopped in his tracks. “And become a statue?”
“If need be.” Sapphira hooked his other arm, and the two girls forced him to continue. “Maybe he won’t have time to turn you into one.”
As they followed the river’s gently meandering shoreline, he gathered his strength and regained his senses. He provided more details about the girl who died and continued lamenting about how much suffering he had caused.
Bonnie listened patiently. It was probably better to let him vent than to try to talk him out of his sorrows.
When they reached a shallow stream, a tributary for the larger river, he hopped over it in a single bound before reaching out from the other side to help the girls. His chatter grew livelier for a while, but when Bonnie explained The Maid’s way of giving them more time, he became silent and stayed that way for the rest of the journey.
Soon, they arrived at the spot where they had set the oblong stone. Turning toward the ridge of highlands, they walked to where the door should have been and searched for the lantern in the ankle-high grass, but it was nowhere in sight.
Bonnie stopped at a point that looked familiar. Although the grass was uniform in consistency and color, this spot seemed a little flatter than the surrounding area. Maybe this is where they had jumped out of the corridor. “I’ll bet Abaddon found the lantern,” she said. “Maybe he took it back inside.”
“Probably.” Sapphira brushed her foot along the grass. “It was his lantern, so why not?”
Bonnie set her hands on her hips and looked at the hills in the distance. “There’s got to be a way to figure this out. If adding sand to the hourglass bought us more time, this place must allow for the most unusual solutions. We should be able to solve this new puzzle.”
“So how does it work?” Sapphira asked. “I’m not very good at coming up with illogical solutions.”
“Maybe it’s like this. Think of the simplest way to solve the problem, something that doesn’t seem like it would work. Then give it a try.”
Bonnie’s father raised a finger. “You mean like a child’s solution?”
“That’s exactly what I mean. If you have to get to the resurrection chamber before the sand runs out, add more sand.”
“So what do we do if we have to find an invisible door?” Sapphira asked. “That doesn’t seem quite as easy.”
Bonnie’s father set the hourglass on the ground. “My guess is that once we solve it, we’ll wonder why it seemed so hard, just like adding sand does now.”
“How about if I just open it?” Bonnie reached into the middle of the air, hoping to grasp a knob, but found nothing. “Well, so much for that idea.”
“Light from the lantern opened it last time.” Sapphira lifted a ball of fire in her palm. “Let’s see if my light will work.”
“But if we don’t even know where the door is, how will your light open it? We had to stand close to the door before it opened last time.”
Sapphira waved her ball of flames back and forth. She painted the grass with a wash of yellow light, easy to see under the dismal sky, but no door opened.
Bonnie stepped in front of Sapphira and into the fireball’s light. Her shadow appeared on the grass, a winged girl shrouded in black. She whispered, “I think I know how to find the door.”
“How?” Sapphira’s firelight dimmed. “Should I—”
“No!” Bonnie waved a hand at her. “Keep it going! Stronger, if you can.”
New light blazed, arcing over Bonnie and clarifying her shadow. Off to the left and several paces away, another shadow loomed, not as dark, but still recognizable as a rectangle, skewed into a diamond shape by the light’s angle.
“We find the door by locating its shadow.” Bonnie stepped toward the dark diamond, curling her finger to si
gnal for Sapphira to follow. As she neared, the shadow straightened in the moving light. When it drew a perfect rectangle on the grass, Bonnie raised her hand.
Sapphira halted, stopping the light’s progress.
Bonnie set her toes a few inches in front of the shadow’s edge and reached out. Her fingers passed through where she thought the door would be, but her hand’s shadow disappeared. “It’s here. Bring the light.”
Holding the hourglass once again, her father walked with Sapphira to the spot. As the light closed in, it drew a yellow circle on and around Bonnie’s hand.
Bonnie eased her hand back. A low creak sounded as the door swung away from them.
For a few seconds, the hinges continued squeaking a half-hearted complaint, then, all was silent as the three stared at the doorway that had appeared out of nowhere.
Bonnie stepped inside and nodded toward the ceiling. “The lantern’s not there.”
Her father and Sapphira joined her in the narrow corridor. Sapphira’s flame blazed and painted the ceiling and walls with Bonnie’s larger-than-life shadow. Her silhouette looked like the dragon guide who haunted the museum’s frescoes.
She glanced back at the hourglass in her father’s grip. If they hadn’t put more in, the sand would have run out long ago, but even now it seemed dangerously low. Although The Maid had added a good deal more sand, she hadn’t filled it beyond the bottom glass’s ability to capture every grain. Overfilling it would probably have violated the rules of this place. Still, it would run out soon, and there would be no sand to gather here.
Now walking abreast, they passed through the hall of frescoes. Strangely enough, the dragons in the murals were again walking in the same direction they were, opposite of the way they were facing during their previous visit.
Bonnie shivered. This was all too weird to believe, like the creepiest nightmare of all time coming true.
Soon, they passed by the mural depicting the mummified man walking out of a cave. Sapphira blew out her light and whispered, “We’re close to the chamber.”
As darkness shrouded them, the trio crept along, Bonnie’s father leading the way. A light appeared in the distance, reddish and flickering as it moved from left to right across their field of vision.
When they reached the end of the hall, they crouched and watched the scene in the chamber. Abaddon carried the lantern to the table in his clawed hand. With a red flame burning inside the smoky glass, the glow looked more like thin mist than light, as if fog had settled into the room and created a blood-tinged haze.
As soon as he set it down, his blue eyebeams flicked on. They knifed through the red mist, creating purplish rays that scanned the wall adjacent to the exit corridor. When they moved to the corridor itself, the beams sliced through the darkness above Bonnie’s head.
She held her breath. Should they just stand up and announce their presence? If her father was going to surrender to him, maybe that would be the best plan. Still, it wouldn’t make sense to reveal everyone. If Abaddon meant them harm, it would take only one of them to find out. The others could escape.
She touched her father and whispered, “Stay here and watch closely.”
He grabbed her wrist. “I can’t let you face that dragon without me.”
“Just trust me, please. I’ve dealt with a lot of dragons.”
Pulling away from his grasp, she picked up the hourglass, rose to her full height, and marched forward, letting the blue lasers strike her chest. “I am Bonnie Silver, and I am surrendering myself to you, Abaddon, and to your mercy. The first time I came, I was an unwilling intruder, drawn here by a portal at the bottom of a pool. This time, I have come, not as an intruder, but as a wanderer seeking counsel. As a lover of truth, I am sure you understand my motivation.”
Abaddon’s eyebeams turned off, and he gave a deep, throaty laugh. “Well, well, the winged wonder has shown herself. Why did a lover of truth forsake asking me for counsel during her first foray here?”
“I was confused, scared, and soaked to the skin. I wasn’t sure what to do. I thought you might be angry.”
“Ah, I see. You projected your own feelings upon me, judged my character, and deduced my response to your innocent intrusion.” His brow lifted. “Are those just actions? Are they in keeping with the truthfulness you cherish? Are you not a hypocrite for casting such shadows upon me?”
Bonnie took a step closer to him. “I hope you will pardon my boldness, but I have been in the company of dragons before, one in particular who did everything he could to get me to doubt my character. I will not be tempted to do that again.”
Twin plumes of smoke rose from his nostrils. “If you speak of Arramos, indeed, he is a crafty creature.” His ears rotated, as if alerted by a sound. “As you must have noticed, I am not he.”
“I apologize for any lack of respect.” Bonnie dipped her knee as if offering a curtsy. “If I have understood your book correctly, you wish to prepare Matthew Conner for resurrection.”
He again raised his scaly brow. “Ah! So you have also intruded upon my personal journal. You who are so confident in your character, how do you rationalize your rashness?”
“You left it open. I assumed it wasn’t private.”
“Private? If you left a diary open in your bedroom, would you consider it a violation if someone walked in without warning and pried into your prose?”
“I would never write anything that I wouldn’t allow others to see. My mother has read every word I’ve written in my diary.”
“Your mother? Not your father?”
Bonnie’s cheeks burned. She ached to look back and see her father’s expression, but she dared not.
“Your silence speaks truer than trumpets, and since you already know my name, you must have read more of my writings than what you saw on the open page. Indeed, I am addressed as Abaddon. As one who is a serious student of the Bible, you must have heard of me.”
Bonnie offered the slightest of nods. “I have.”
“Many think of me as an evil being, a crafty creature, especially those who believe in tall tales.” He spread out his wings, broad, thick, and muscular. “I am the fifth angel of Revelation. I hold the key to the abyss, and I am the king of the punishers that lie therein. One day I will leave this place and bring God’s wrath upon the wicked people of the Earth.” His blue eyes flashed. “I am destruction.”
Bonnie swallowed. Had any dragon ever looked so strong, so noble? Maybe he really was an angel of some kind, an avenging angel. She cleared her throat and spread out her own wings. “Excuse me for not understanding who you are. Since we’ve never met, I—”
“Oh, but we have met, my pet. Did you not find the entry in my journal? Did you resist the temptation to mollify your meddlesome nature? If so, then perhaps I have misjudged you.”
She fidgeted. She was losing ground to this dragon, and losing it fast. Steeling her resolve, she looked him in the eye. “I found the entry.”
“Then you know that you have voyaged through my valley before.” Abaddon touched the ovulum on the central mount with the tip of his wing. “I set your soul in this very spot and sent you back to those who love you. From the depths of her heart, the healer Ashley called you from this place and restored you.”
“So, is that the key to resurrection? Someone calls you?”
“When the Lord called for Lazarus, and a girl called for Goliath using his human name, and tiny companions in crystalline eggs called for their charges using names of wisdom, they rose in answer to the heavenly empowered calls.”
Bonnie tilted her head. “Goliath’s human name? I don’t understand.”
“His abode was in the abyss, a most unpleasant place in this realm, reserved for those of evil intent. When the slayer killed him, he came to me in dragon form, a foul creature, and I cast out the Nephilim nesting within him and sealed their spirits in the abyss. He transformed into a human spirit and was sent to Second Eden, the place of new birth. There he lived for over a hundred years as a man
of manners, becoming a fine father and holy husband, and, as is true with most who pass through this valley, he maintained no memory of his visit.
“When he died in that life, he came to me again, still as a human spirit. Michael the archangel told me that Goliath, or Dragon as he had been renamed, must have another opportunity to withstand the workings of the evil Nephilim. He had failed the first time, but perhaps his experiences as a man of nobility had regenerated his resolve.
“This test of character was crucial, and it would likely be his last chance to prove himself. So, he was sealed in the abyss with the evil spirits and without a Second Eden companion to help him. Our plan was to keep him there for only a short time, but when I opened the seal, he had already transformed to his dragon self, as malevolent as ever.”
Abaddon finished with a long sigh. “In fact, Goliath conspired with Arramos to deceive his former mate in Second Eden. As a result, she took of that world’s forbidden fruit, which led to the further fouling of the land.”
Bonnie glanced at the hourglass. Even with the extra sand, it was almost empty. This dragon’s long story had wasted a lot of time. Still, he seemed to be in no hurry. “How soon till the next resurrection takes place?”
“I have not kept count of any time elements.” He extended his neck, bringing his head so close, his hot breath stung her cheeks. “It seems that someone has taken my hourglass.”
She lifted it to his eye level. “I assumed I could take it.”
“You assume a great deal. I merely said that the chamber would be energized when the sand is spent. I said nothing about anyone taking it.”
“It’s about to run out now, but there’s no room to add any more sand.”
“It seems that the simplest solutions elude you.” Abaddon took the hourglass, flipped it over, and set it on the table. “Now we have plenty of time.”
Bonnie’s face again flamed. This crazy world was getting crazier by the minute.
“Now, where was I before I told you about Goliath?” Abaddon’s snout pointed at the ceiling for a moment. “Oh, yes, your diary. We both know why you never showed it to your father, do we not?”