“We are still prisoners,” said the leader.
“I promised to free you,” replied Erin. “This is just a stop-gap, a temporary measure.”
“We will hold you to your promise,” came the reply. “Time grows short. Seven centuries will pass. Then it must fall regardless.”
As quickly as they had appeared, the ghosts faded into the black shadow of the building. A faint cry of despair seemed to echo around them for a moment.
“Okay,” said Black. “Shall we call that a qualified success?”
Erin shuddered as she took her hand away from the living stone.
“Yeah,” she agreed. “Let's look on the bright side. Maybe we'll be able to solve the tower problem more easily now Ithuriel's out of our hair.”
***
Jeff Hunter woke suddenly and checked the time. It was just after three in the morning. He reached out to Melody's side of the bed. It was cold, the covers thrown back. A faint light leaked under the bedroom door.
Bathroom, he told himself. Pregnant woman, needs to pee a lot. No biggie.
Jeff lay staring at the ceiling, waiting for Melody to come back. After a while, he checked the clock and saw that nearly twenty minutes had passed. He got up, shivering as he left the warmth of the bed.
Maybe she's not well, he thought. Maybe it's the baby, something could be wrong.
Jeff opened the bedroom door and stopped in surprise. The light he saw was not coming from the bathroom. It was nothing like the light from a fluorescent bulb; it was a golden glow that seemed to pulse with a strange, living energy. And it was coming from the half-open door to the living room.
Jeff almost called out, then checked himself. Instead of speaking, he tiptoed along the hallway until he could see what was going on. Melody came into view, sitting on the couch with her laptop on her knees. Her face was rapt, ecstatic even. Her mouth was half-open, her eyes wide with wonder. Golden light flowed over her face, seeming to caress her like a living thing.
Again, Jeff stopped himself from speaking. He sensed that there was something wrong. Melody's expression reminded him of a college friend who had been heavily into drugs. She had the same look of mindless joy.
It's not drugs, though, he thought. This is something different. Something stranger.
Jeff began to sidle around the room, keeping close to the wall, to get behind the sofa and see what Melody was looking at. He felt sure she was so intent on the screen that she would not notice his stealthy movement. After a few moments, he was able to see the laptop screen. It was a featureless rectangle of intense radiance.
She's looking at nothing. Is she going crazy?
Melody turned her head, and smiled.
“Hello, darling!” she said. “Couldn't you sleep?”
Her tone of voice was matter-of-fact, suggested that nothing odd was happening.
“What are you doing?” Jeff demanded. “What is that – that light?”
Melody glanced at the screen, smiled at him again.
“It's a very special person,” she said. “Someone who's taking a kindly interest in our baby. Isn't that sweet? We were talking about godparents, and now we've found one!”
“Okay,” said Jeff carefully, taking a few steps towards his girlfriend. “Who is this amazing character? Does he have a name?”
Melody laughed.
“Of course!” she exclaimed. “Everyone has a name. But why don't you let him introduce himself?”
Melody patted the sofa.
“Okay,” said Jeff again. He sat down next to her.
Melody turned the laptop so that the screen faced Jeff.
“I can't see anything except–” he began, crinkling up his eyes. But then he heard a voice. It was clear, penetrating, more like the sound of some musical instrument than a living being.
“Welcome,” it said. “We have much to do.”
Jeff tried to tear his gaze away from the glow, but found that he could not move his head. The golden glow took on a rosy hue, and the pulsing radiance seemed to fill his mind. Soon it overwhelmed everything, and he forgot who or where he was. A face appeared, inhumanly perfect, smiling faintly.
Ithuriel.
The name was his only thought.
Then something wonderful happened. The face emerged from the screen. Golden filaments interwove and coalesced. Strange, beautiful wings unfurled. A body began to form, nebulous at first, but gradually becoming more substantial. Soon it was a good facsimile of a human being.
“My children,” it said. “Thank you for allowing me into your home. Listen carefully. We have much to do, and there is very little time.”
* * *
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Table of Contents
Prologue: Weyrmouth, 1587 AD
Chapter 1: Monday Morning Blues
Chapter 2: Messages in Light and Blood
Chapter 3: A Winter Night in Weyrmouth
Chapter 4: Mixed Signals
Chapter 5: Information Overload
Chapter 6: Living History
Chapter 7: Lost and Found
Chapter 8: The Wreck of the Charlotte Clore
Chapter 9: Unholy Orders
Chapter 10: Mirror, Mirror
Epilogue: Offerings
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