Witness

by Lori Darnell

  “I don’t trust him.” Jill spoke though her sobs. “We don’t have any choice, do we?” It would do no good to lie.

  “No, but my hope is that Jenna’s love for you will be enough to keep our daughter safe. There is nothing more we can do.”

  “Stay with them, protect her.” She pleaded, placing her hand on my cheek. I turned to her in horror.

  “No. I will not lose you for eternity. I can’t do it.” Turning to kiss her palm I continued to plead. “I won’t be a part of these games anymore. You and I are leaving here together.” I brushed my hand across her swollen belly.

  “Besides, our daughter would not be safer with me here.” I looked up, she was blurry as I looked through the tears. “I’m not exactly inconspicuous. They would find her easily – they would have found me long ago, were it not for you. I wasn't able to save James. I wasn't able to save Dean. I can't even save you.” I slumped next to her, pulling her close to me. We both knew that now that I had shown myself, it would only be a matter of time before they would come after those we loved. Eve would be much safer in hiding with Jenna. The only thing we could hope for now is that she would be safe and happy, and shielded from this horrible religious plague that spanned the world.

  “There is one more thing to wish for.” Jill said sleepily, as she yawned.

  “What is that?” I turned her face to me.

  “We can hope she looks normal.” I didn’t even think about it. How would they hide someone that glowed?

  “Don’t worry; just think of it this way. No one knew you were a god until you showed them. We can pray she has the same ability.” Jill pulled my arms tighter to her chest. “We need to rest. I think we should leave as soon as it is dark outside.” She was right.

  “Jill, you do want to come with me, don’t you?” It had never occurred to me that she would rather reject godhood, in favor of being reborn. “I don’t want to force you into this.” She turned in my arms to face me.

  “Marcus, what a silly thing to say! This is a gift bigger that I could ever have imagined!” She placed her hand over my heart. “I died when you left the first time. When Sam plunged the dagger into your heart, I felt the cold steel rip into my own. How could I live without you? How could I be born into a life where I wouldn’t know you, wouldn’t remember our Eve.” She leaned into my shoulder. “No, there is nothing I would want more,” she said quietly, though I knew she was lying. There was one more thing she could want – the one thing that was not in my power to give. Gently, I cupped her head in my hand.

  “I know what we both want. We want to be here to raise our daughter, with her strange but loving grandpas, James and Dean.” I said.

  It was late at night when we grabbed the camels. Duke was waiting for us. We climbed up and headed to the airport. We didn’t have many choices left other than to fly, we didn’t have the time. The guardian and his daughter Jenna had officially been named the new parents of Eve. Jenna and Jill spoke of what they wanted for her. Jill was happy her friend would be a part of our daughter’s life.

  As we rode on I looked down into Jill’s hand and saw a small leather bag. Curious, I had to ask. “Ok, I give, what is it?” She laughed.

  “I forgot, I never told you. It is a present for our daughter. Something to remember us by.” She opened the small bag, and an intricate necklace made of gold and turquoise wrapped itself around the small glass stone that I had made from Jill’s blood. It was so beautiful. “This way, no matter what happens, she will always have a piece of you and me.” She leaned back against me to rest. “I hope she likes it.”

  “I am sure she will.” Jill placed the necklace back in its case. “Why did you bring it with us?”

  “I didn’t want to leave it behind, in case we don’t get to go back, in case Eve never goes back to the temple.” Jill’s precognition was a force to be reckoned with.

  “What do you see?” She shook her head.

  “Nothing is certain. I just wanted to be sure that Eve would have this.” She clutched the small bag to her chest. “She has to know we love her.”

  “Jenna will be sure to tell her.” I leaned down kissing her hair. “We will be on the plane soon, you need to get some rest.”

  “No, there is only so much time left. I don’t want to waste it on sleep. I want to see you destroy their world. Just like they destroyed Eve’s.” On the heels of this comment, Jill took my hand from the reigns, bringing it to the swell in her belly. The mass shifted slightly, moving of its own accord. This was the first time I had felt our daughter move. Abruptly, she kicked outward, lifting my hand and surprising us both with her strength. Jill moaned slightly, then relaxed again as Eve’s restlessness died down.

  The experience was incredible; I very nearly forgot where we were headed, and what we were about to do in the midst of the moment. I had a sudden and intense urge to turn the camels around, and gallop as far from here as possible, somewhere desolate, somewhere safe, to raise our child uninterrupted. But it was a bittersweet desire, as the reality of it all came crashing back – this would never be, not for us.

  The airport was very quiet. Late night flights seemed to be less busy. All we could hope to do was keep the attention down to a minimum. I should have let the three of them walk without me, but I couldn't leave Jill's side. The flight itself was not fully booked. We were able to take two sets of coach seats away from each other, in an attempt to divide the attention between us. There were several stares as I boarded the plane. I knew there had to be at least a few of these people here that knew what I was. I quickly realized that there would be no problems on this flight. They were too scared to be a problem, trapped on a small craft with me. It had its advantages. No one came near us.

  "See, nothing to worry about." Jill smiled as I looked around the plane over and over again, looking for trouble to find us.

  "I know. I will feel better when we land. This way of travel always seems to remind me of the last time I flew to Rome. I was just a boy then, determined to face my demons head on." My eyes rested on her perfect smile. "I guess not much has changed."

  "No, that isn't exactly true - you're not facing anything alone." She held my hand as the plane reached into the heavens. I closed my eyes, frustrated. I wasn't alone before, either - I had Jacob. But I refrained from comment as Jill relaxed back in her seat.

  We drifted to sleep under the gentle vibrations of the plane. I knew I had to talk to Isis. It was almost done. I drifted further, searching for her as I dreamed. I could smell her spicy incense in the air; it still sickened me. I could hear laughter in the distance.

  "What kind of greeting is that? I have left you alone as you asked. I have welcomed Jill into our home. I deserve more gratitude than that." She demanded, her tone mocking.

  "This is very disorienting," I stated coldly, trying to find my footing in a dream between worlds.

  "I would have thought you would have made this trip long ago." She laughed at my efforts.

  "Did you have anything to do with James and Dean?" I was still shaken. My emotions in this existence were nearly uncontrollable.

  "No, I wasn't watching them. I told you, you're my only concern." She walked toward me, reaching to embrace me.

  I stepped backward. "I believe you, but I don't want to touch you." I laughed. "Jill, won't like it."

  "Are you sure that you want such a jealous god?" She was kidding with me, trying to make me smile. It worked, though not for the reasons she likely thought.

  "If there were more gods like her, maybe we wouldn't be living in a world like we do now." I smiled as I thought of the warm embrace and loving nature of my Jill. But it was tainted by the pain and fire that we were going to endure. It brought me back to my reason for being here. My questions that I hoped I would get answers for.

  Isis read my mind. "What questions do you want to ask? I will tell you the truth, if I can." I knew she didn't keep secrets from me, it was just that her answers seemed to bring more questions than resolutions.

/>   "I need to know if our daughter will be safe?" I asked her looking away, unable to hide the fear in my eyes.

  "The girl Jenna will do everything that anyone could do to make that happen. She can be trusted." Isis smiled as she touched my shoulder in comfort. "Your daughter will be the most important thing to both the human world and ours."

  I looked down at her powerful frame. She exuded confidence in every movement. I wish I could do the same. "I need to return to Jill. The next time you see me, I will be bringing her home." Isis let go of my shoulder, only to embrace me.

  "We welcome her to our family. We have a place prepared for you both." She released me gently. I was relieved to hear that Jill would be welcomed, but my mind was still worrying over Eve.

  "Will we be able to see her, talk to her, let her know we love her?" I asked, as the words choked out of me through the tears.

  "I'm sorry Marcus, but that won't be possible. I will look after her. She will be my utmost priority in all things. But to take your place here, and to keep Jill, we need to be cautious. There is a god among us that will do everything he can to hurt her. He will be searching for her." She looked away from the shock that raged within me. I never thought I would be forced to abandon my daughter entirely – I was sure we could guide her from the heavens – after all, if not, what use was there, being a god? Everything around me seemed to be spinning out of control.

  "We can never see her?" I bowed my head and fell to my knees. It was more than I could bear. "She will be alone."

  "No, she will not be alone. She will have Jenna." Kneeling before me, Isis lifted my chin. "Don't be sad. You are sacrificing much for her. Jill is your reward. I will keep her safe for you." She smiled. "Adoni is a selfish child god – his interest won’t be focused on her forever."

  "Who is this god? I don't know the name."

  "No, he doesn't use that name anymore." She looked behind her. "He is the Christian god, worshipped in blood in the Churches. He is the reason there is so much pain. The world's pain is an echo of his own. The rest of us have moved beyond the concerns of humanity."

  "I don't understand." I wanted to know everything. Why hadn't she told me this before? Why now?

  "I'm sorry Marcus, there is no time. It is time for you to move, Jill is calling you." She pushed against my shoulder and I started to fall backward. I opened my eyes. Jill was calling my name.

  "Marcus, are you alright?" Her frantic voice pulled me back through.

  "I'm fine." I tried to block my memories, but I was too late.

  "Never?" The word escaped Jill's lips, and I felt the ache all over again.

  "It will be better this way. Isis will keep her safe from him. It will be too dangerous, at least at first. I can't argue with gods until we are among them." I smiled grimly, thinking of the many ways I could get past her. We had time.

  "Isis and I are going to have a few words." She flashed to the vision of her embracing me.

  "Jill, you are the only one who can touch my heart." I brushed my hand across her cheek.

  "Once this is finished, it will be known that I am the only one who can touch your body." She brushed her hand down my chest, across my waist, and rested there. "In fact, maybe we should emphasize that point now."

  She swung her body across my lap shifting her dress out of the way. She wrestled with my belt as I brought my mouth up to hers.

  I broke the kiss off abruptly. She frowned at me. "Jill, I love you, but we need to rest. And I am not a fan of the entire plane watching us." I looked up and several people were craning their necks to see what I was doing.

  Jill huffed, but her passions cooled with the idea of all these people watching us. She cuddled in my lap, refusing to use her own seat. It was a compromise, one sided, as the dull ache in my groin was present under her firm thighs.

  Jill was still sitting, in a more conventional fashion, across my lap when the plane descended upon Rome. We were waiting for all of the other passengers to leave. Jill and I were the last to exit the plane. The flight crew followed closely behind us. We walked through the crowds, but then diverted, walking toward the wilderness at the back of the airport. We didn't want to get too close to the Church armada that was likely waiting for us to arrive.

  The forest was surprisingly still as we rested against the trees. We needed a plan. I looked around at our party of four, much smaller than it should have been. Jill looked up at me and smiled, trying to be strong.

  “I know this isn’t what we had originally planned – we had originally meant to destroy more hotels first. But time is growing short, and I think it would be best to finish this where it all started.” I looked up at Jenna and her father expectantly. Their expressions were opposite of one another. Jenna was approving, her father’s was furious.

  “Are you insane? Jenna will not set foot into that compound.” The guardian looked over at his daughter. “It is too dangerous.”

  “I want to be there. I have to be there for Eve. Look at Jill - she may give birth any day now! We have to be close, very close, or we’ll risk losing Eve to the Church.” She smiled at Jill. “Jill, Eve is my biggest priority now. I will raise her as I would my own daughter. I won’t let them take her.” Jenna’s voice shook as she proclaimed her stand.

  The guardian looked his daughter and then at me, exasperated. “You do realize that we will be captured? There is no hope for us in there.”

  “Actually there is. I have an idea, and it may actually work.” Jill pulled my arm tighter to her. “Marcus, we can have them dress in robes, they would blend in with the crowd.” Jill looked at Jenna, making sure she was listening. “Jenna, just don’t react to anything you see. There will be so many people there, it won’t be hard to be lost in the crowd.” Jenna shook her head in acknowledgement.

  “Besides, everyone will be focused on us as we walk through the doors.” Jill stated, obviously seeing something we weren’t. “In fact, the entire Church population of Rome seems to be waiting for us. Apparently our demonstration at the Red Door was more memorable than anticipated.” I forced the visions away. “Good, I hope they are as terrified as they should be.” I smiled grimly at Jill. There would be retribution for taking James and Dean from us, from Eve.

  With a lot of convincing, the guardian was now compliant with our plan. We didn’t have time to make an example of all the hotels. Jill didn’t have that kind of time. But this would be a statement. Something they would remember. Once this was done, Jill and I would go somewhere quiet with Jenna and her father, waiting for our daughter to be born. Hopefully we could get far away from the Church before it happened. I didn’t want to take any chances they would come for her. But who was I kidding? They would come for Eve, no matter where she was born.

  Having chosen the following day for the plan to begin, and following our careful preparations throughout the day, I fell asleep that night worrying about Eve’s future and the safety of her adopted mother, Jenna. The dreams felt so real. I was walking through the fields of home, as I had done as a child. Then I could hear my father pleading with the stranger, Jacob, wanting to come with me. I was behind them. They didn’t see me. I wanted to run to them, hold them and tell them I was all right, but I was just a shadow here. They weren’t really alive.

  I saw myself being dragged away, onto the boat. I could see Jacob was the one to free the boat from the docks. It sailed away with more speed than I remember. My parents were still on their knees, begging. I saw the fire shimmer next to me. I could smell warm spice. I could feel the heat of the fire walk past me. As the flames took shape, I recognized her - it was Isis. She was walking toward my parents.

  I followed, her unnoticed. My parents turned to the approaching god. “I did everything you asked. Everything you told me to do.” My father spoke, but his voice cracked through the tears. “You told us he would be safe. That we would see him again.” He stood slowly, helping my mother to her feet.

  “And he will be. Everything is going to go well. You will see him in tim
e.” Her smile was honey, but her voice was razor-sharp with her lies.

  “We should have left sooner. We could have avoided them completely, if we didn’t wait like you told us to.” My mother accused, turning her head into my father’s shoulder. She was crying softly.

  “You lied to us. You’re not going to protect him. You're going to use him. Just like you used us.” My father’s voice was stronger now, with unveiled anger.

  “I am helping him fulfill his destiny.” She looked back toward the burning village. Through me, but not seeing me, she stared at the fires. “With you, his destiny would have led there, into the flames. I told you that we needed to stop this. The god Adoni has become vengeful and childlike. He will not see reason with us.” She turned back to my parents. “We must destroy the reason he stays behind.”

  “But he is our son. We love him.” My mother pleaded with her.

  “He no longer needs your love, he has mine.” She turned walking away.

  “What about us? You said we would be saved!” My father was walking behind Isis, trying to talk to her as she ignored him. He reached out and touched her harm. It burned him.

  “No one may touch me.” She turned back to him quickly, surprising him as he fell to the ground. “You have served your purpose. Now Marcus will do the same.” She leaned down over him, enhancing her intimidation. “I did say I would save you from the Church.” She walked over to my mother who was still standing a few feet away.

  “Thank you.” My mother smiled, relieved. Isis brought her hand to my mother’s chest. At that moment, recognition sparked. She betrayed them.

  “It didn’t mean I was going to be able to save you from yourselves. You cannot be allowed to interfere.” She drew her hand up around my mother’s neck. I heard the crack as she snapped it. “It really was the only way to save you.” Isis said to my mother as her limp body dropped to the ground.

  “No.” Softly spoken through my father’s lips. That was the last thing he said as Isis turned to him.

  “I am truly sorry. But the boy belongs to me.” She put her hand to the fire and the blue flames licked up her arms. “Maybe you will find each other in the next life. Maybe through your sacrifice, your next life will be ushered into a better world.” She placed her burning hand to my father’s chest. He turned to ash at her feet. She had done the same as I had to the man from the Red Door. The power was a gift from this murderer.