by R. D. Brady
He looked down at Nyssa. “How about you, little one? Are you ready to sleep?”
She shook her head just before she yawned.
Patrick ran a hand gently over her head. “Of course you’re not. Well, how about if I read us both a story, and then you can tuck me in?”
Nyssa nodded her head.
Patrick smiled as he wheeled himself and Nyssa out of the kitchen. Tiger followed them.
“I’ll go get her in a few minutes,” Cain said.
Laney watched the doorway. “He’s okay, right?”
“He’s okay, Laney. He’s been through an ordeal. But he’s all right. And I think helping take care of all the children from the school, it gave him a purpose. And you know how he loves that.”
“I definitely know that.”
“So what’s really going on?” Cain asked.
Laney turned back to the table, wrapping her hands around her mug. She paused, giving Cain’s question some thought. What was going on? Her uncle was here. She should be happy. Yet tension radiated along her spine. She couldn’t relax. She couldn’t seem to just let herself enjoy the moment.
And she recognized the feeling.
“Laney?” Cain asked quietly.
She looked up into his face, reading the concern there. “I’ve been doing this a while, the whole ring-bearer thing. And there’s this pattern that keeps repeating.” She paused.
“What’s that?”
“Everything seems to be good, or at least all right. But there’s a feeling in the air, just under the surface. It’s as if I know everything, these moments, are temporary. That everything is about to change.”
“I think the world has already changed a great deal.”
“That’s true.” A chill ran over her, and she shuddered, looking down the hall where her uncle had disappeared. “But I don’t think we’re done yet. And I have a feeling that as bad as things are now, they’re about to get a whole lot worse.”
Chapter 23
Mount Hermon
On the border of modern-day Syria and Lebanon
Night had arrived as Michael landed on the cliff overlooking the human settlement. Fires were spread throughout the encampment in between the tents. He crouched at the cliff’s edge of Mount Hermon, the smell of roasting meat wafting up toward him. He tilted his head, watching their movements curiously. They were always moving, always together. It was rare to spy one of them alone. Voices rose up to him in song. They had very little, yet the voices were full of joy and laughter. Such strange creatures.
He watched them through the long night, long after the fires had gone cold and they had climbed into their animal-hide-covered tents.
Shadows shifted above him as the first traces of light hit the horizon. He felt his brother long before he arrived. Samyaza landed lightly next to him, his long hair blowing back in the wind. His strong arms wrapped in metal straps like Michael’s, a sign of their high rank, as was the red engraving on their silver breastplates.
Samyaza nodded toward his big brother. “I heard you were looking for me.”
Michael’s gaze did not shift to his brother, moving between the camp, which had begun to awaken, and the horizon. “I was.”
Samyaza sighed. “Michael, what—”
Michael held up his hand. “Not yet.”
Grumbling under his breath, Samyaza sat on the rock across from him. “Oh, by all means, take your time.”
The sky slowly shifted into color. Michael watched in awe. He would never grow tired of this. The sky bursting to life with the dawning of the sun. Finally, the sun rose above the horizon, the colors fading into a soft blue. He turned to study Samyaza, who was pitching rocks at the hilltop behind them.
Samyaza arched an eyebrow at him. “Are you finished?”
“For today. I do not get to see that often enough.”
“Well, if you spent a little less time on duty, perhaps you could. Now why did you want to speak with me? And why of all places here?”
“I’ve heard this is your favorite spot. That you like to watch the humans as they go about their lives below.”
Samyaza smiled. “Do you know I think some of them can sense us? Every once in a while, one looks right at me, almost as if they can see me.”
“That’s not possible. You know that.”
Samyaza shrugged. “Not yet, perhaps.”
Michael’s tone hardened. “You cannot talk that way, Samyaza. It is causing problems—”
“I cannot talk that way?” He shook his head. “I cannot walk amongst the humans. I cannot eat their bread or feel the touch of their women. Tell me, brother, what exactly can I do?”
Michael studied his brother. Samyaza’s unease had been growing as of late. And it was spreading to some of the others. “Our lives are ones of service.”
“And what else? Where is our reward?” Samyaza threw his arms wide toward the camp below. “Look at them! They do nothing but are loved. We toil, fight, and yet we gain nothing in return but more of the same.”
“Reward? We are the most high. What other reward is there?”
“Power, riches. Amongst men, we would be gods.”
Michael recoiled at his words. “That is not the way.”
“And why not? Why can the way not change? When we were created, they did not exist. But once they came into being, our world, our existence changed. Why can we not change it again, but this time in our favor rather than theirs?”
“I don’t understand. Where does this come from? Why would you say such things?”
Samyaza’s eyes glowed as the morning light hit them. “Oh, I am not alone in saying such things.”
“What?” Michael had felt his brothers’ unease, but he did not think they had spoken their unhappiness aloud. How could it have gotten this far out of control?
“You think our brothers do not long for more than a life of servitude? Then you are the blind one, Michael. A day is coming soon when you will have to choose.”
Michael frowned. “Choose? Choose what?”
“Not a what, a who. Who will you be, Michael? A blind servant or a master of your own destiny?”
Samyaza started to walk past him, but Michael grabbed his shoulder. “That is not the question. If you were to step through the veil, your powers would be well above any human’s. Their world would never be the same.”
Samyaza shrugged Michael’s hand off. “Seems only fair since their existence did the same to us.”
“Samyaza, they are peaceful, they are good. You would destroy all of that.”
“They are sheep, and they need a strong hand to guide them. It just so happens, I have two.”
Drake awoke with a start, his gasp of breath sounding extra loud in the silence of the dark room. Laney shifted on the couch next to him, her hand reaching for him and settling on his bare chest. She hadn’t been in their home when he returned. He’d eventually found her sleeping in Cain’s living room. Rather than move her, he’d simply shifted her over to make room for himself.
He focused on controlling his breathing. Laney had struggled to sleep for the last few hours, and he didn’t want to wake her. But what had that dream been about?
“Drake?” She pushed her hair out of her face, glancing toward the window. “What are you doing up? It’s barely dawn. Is something wrong?”
“No, no. I simply had a strange dream.”
She closed her eyes, snuggling into him. “Do you want to talk about it?”
No.” He kissed her forehead. “Go back to sleep.”
She nodded absentmindedly, her lids closing.
He waited until her breathing evened out and he was sure she was asleep before he slipped off the couch. He made his way to the window, staring out into the night. He ran a hand over his face. He’d recognized Samyaza. He knew him. But Michael . . . Why had he dreamed of Michael?
He struggled to figure out if he had ever met him, but like everything about his time before Earth, it was a blank. A feeling of unease slid through h
im.
I must have known him. But why am I dreaming about him now?
He glanced back at the couch where Laney lay sleeping. He loved her with everything in his being. He had for centuries. And right here, right now, as tumultuous as their life was, he wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.
It was nothing. Just a dream. But even in his own mind, there was more hope than confidence in his words.
He sat there waiting for the sun to rise, his chest easing at the sight of the first few rays along the horizon.
He smiled. He always did love watching the dawn.
Chapter 24
Laney slept like a log. She couldn’t remember the last time she had slept straight through the night without waking. As she blinked open her eyes, it took her a moment to recognize where she was. Turning her head, she remembered falling asleep as she and Cain sat in his living room. She pushed down the blanket he must have covered her with. Cleo lay sprawled out on the floor. A note sat propped up on the coffee table in front of her.
She opened it, recognizing Drake’s handwriting.
You were sleeping when I returned. I didn’t want to wake you. Let me know when you are up.
She smiled and placed it back on the table. Nyssa tottered into the room, rubbing her eyes with one hand while holding on to Tiger with the other. Laney held out her arms. “Hey there, love bug.”
Nyssa stumbled over, climbing onto the couch. Laney pulled the blanket back over the two of them as Nyssa got comfortable. Tiger curled up on the floor next to Cleo. Laney knew she should get up. She should go check on the new people, make sure everything was fine.
But Nyssa let out a big yawn and snuggled in closer, closing her eyes. And right at this moment, everything felt right, even with the gnawing sense of change around the corner. Her uncle was back. Everyone was safe, if in hiding. And if there was one thing she was the most thankful for thanks to Drake, it was to appreciate the now. So she rested her hand on Nyssa’s back, sucked in by the warmth of her closeness, and let herself drift back to sleep.
An hour later, her eyes opened. Her uncle was sitting in his wheelchair in the entryway to the room. He winced. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”
Laney stretched, realizing Nyssa had disappeared. “No, I need to get moving. I wanted to check in on everyone next door.”
“Drake is already doing that.”
Laney stretched. “Good. How’d you sleep?”
The circles under his eyes were less pronounced, and he seemed to have a little more spark than yesterday. “Like a baby. I swear I did not even stir for eight straight hours.”
“You look . . . rested.”
He snorted. “Delicately phrased. I thought maybe we could have some breakfast. There are things we need to speak about.”
Dread pooled in the bottom of her stomach. “Great.”
Cain was finishing up breakfast with Nyssa when Laney and Patrick entered the kitchen. He whipped them up some breakfast, placing the food on four plates. Laney frowned. “Are you guys eating again?”
A knock sounded at the front door, followed by Jake’s voice. “Anybody home?”
“Back here,” Patrick called.
Cain placed the plates on the table. “Nope. Mary Jane and I are taking Nyssa and the girls for a walk so you guys can chat.”
Jake appeared in the doorway, Mary Jane, Henry, and Susie behind him. They all chatted for a few minutes before Cain and Mary Jane took their leave with the girls. The remaining four sat at the table and dug into the food. No one spoke as they all enjoyed the benefits of Cain’s long years of culinary practice. Then Henry asked Patrick about the state of Italy.
Patrick shook his head. “It’s not good. People are going hungry. It’s making them desperate.”
“Did you have any problems at the school?”
“A few. But Bas and David were always there. No one ever got beyond the walls.”
Laney had of course seen the difficulties during her missions, as had Jake and Henry, but none of them had spent any extensive time outside Havenville. Patrick spoke about families that he’d see one day from his window, and then he’d see them packing up and walking toward the countryside. He wasn’t sure what they hoped to find. Disease and sickness were beginning to hit the cities too, and medicines were running short. Laney imagined it was even worse in lesser-developed nations.
“And the trip over?” Jake asked.
Patrick shuddered. “Rough. With a group our size, we needed a larger plane, more cars, which meant more fuel, which is also in short supply. It made the whole trip more difficult. But David had it all mapped out. I think he cashed in just about every favor he was owed to get us here.”
Laney said another little prayer of thanks that David had been the one Bruce had assigned to watch over her last year. If someone else had been given the mission, if someone besides Bruce had been the one calling the shots, well, things would have turned out a whole lot worse for all of them.
Her mug ensconced in her hands, Laney sat back as everyone went silent. “So I’m guessing you found some information?”
Patrick nodded. “I was able to read some of the translations of the Tome that Bas was able to copy.”
“And?”
“And there were these hints about a weapon that could be used against the Fallen.”
You must find the weapon. Sarah Goode’s words rang through her mind, stealing her breath. With everything happening, she had practically forgotten the vision Noriko had shown her.
Jake leaned forward, ever the soldier. “What kind of weapon?”
“Something that would remove the powers of the Fallen.”
“You mean the Omni,” Jake said.
“No, no. I didn’t get the impression that it was the Omni. The way it was written about, the writers feared it.”
Laney frowned. She hadn’t spent much time thinking about the weapon. She supposed it could still be the Omni. But why would the Followers fear it? For humans, the Omni had no negative side effects, besides, of course, giving one the abilities of the Fallen.
“I think maybe the beginning of the Tome might have more information, but Bas didn’t have a chance to copy those pages. He hadn’t gotten to them yet. And to be honest, I only really understood what it could mean the day before we left. There wasn’t time for him to get to the Tome safely.”
Laney nodded. It was interesting, but Laney didn’t really see how it changed anything. They had the formula for the Omni.
Cain bustled into the kitchen, pulling off his sunglasses as he cast his gaze around the room. “Hey. Sorry to interrupt. I forgot the girls’ snacks. Has anyone seen— Oh, wait, there they are.”
Cain headed across the room, grabbing two snack cups from next to the fridge. “I will be out of your hair in—”
Laney interrupted him. “Cain, you haven’t heard about weapon against the Fallen, have you?”
“Weapon? What kind of weapon?”
Jake gestured to Patrick. “Patrick said there was mention in the Tome of some sort of weapon.”
Cain gave them a distracted shake of his head. “Can’t really say I have.”
Patrick blew out a breath. “Well, maybe it is just the Omni. Maybe I was seeing something that wasn’t there.”
“I’ll give it some thought, but I need to run. I left Mary Jane with two girls on the edge of a full-blown meltdown.”
Laney waved him to the door. The girls were normally pretty good, but when they were hungry, look out. “Go, go. Good luck.”
After Cain left, Jake refilled everyone’s mugs, and Laney doled out the pastries Cain had left for them. They spoke a little about Havenville, explaining to Patrick about some of the people whom they’d brought in. Then Henry told Patrick about his and Jen’s plans for their baby.
Laney smiled, watching how animated Henry was at the idea of his child coming into the world. Laney couldn’t help but feel just as excited.
Jake stood up. “Speaking of families, I promise
d to take Molly out for a little self-defense training.”
“How’s she doing?”
“All right. The nightmares are still there, but she’s strong, not just physically.” There was a note of pride in Jake’s voice.
The back door flew open. Jake already had his weapon clear of his holster as Laney and Henry whirled around.
Cain flew into the room, his eyes wide, his breathing uneven.
Laney ran across the room, grabbing his arms. “What is it? What’s happened?”
Cain shook his head as he tried to catch his breath. “No . . . Nothing wrong.”
Laney frowned. “Then what is—”
Cain clutched her arms before turning to the others in the room. “The weapon. I think I know what it refers to.”
“Is it like the Omni?” Henry asked. “Can it remove their abilities?”
Cain nodded, moving to the table. “Yes and no. It’s like the Omni in that it can remove their abilities, but it’s so much more. The weapon, it won’t just remove one Fallen’s abilities. It will remove all of them.”
Henry frowned. “All of them as in . . . ?”
Cain looked at each person in turn, his gaze finally coming to rest on Laney. “All of them. Every Fallen in the world. Every. Single. One.”
Chapter 25
Cain stumbled into a chair, looking shaky. Laney quickly got him a glass of water. He nodded his thanks before gulping it down, wiping his mouth on his sleeve.
Patrick spoke as Laney retook her seat. “What do you mean it will remove the Fallen’s abilities?”
“Exactly that. It’s supposed to remove the abilities of all the Fallen.” Cain ran a hand through his hair. “I didn’t even think of it when you asked me earlier because it’s been so long since anyone has mentioned it. And even then it was more rumor than fact.”
Cain took a breath as if collecting his thoughts before he spoke. “The last time I heard about it was not long after . . .” He gestured at his eyes.
Laney felt her own eyes widen. That would have been tens of thousands of years ago.