Choosing Eternity (The New Era Saga Book 3)

by KT Webb

  “What a strange vision,” Nora mused.

  “It doesn’t sound like your other visions. Normally, you see something we’re meant to prevent,” Romulus said.

  “You say you heard whispers?” Joe asked.

  Kerr nodded and waited for Joe to find the words to explain the strange look on his face.

  “I seem to remember something about that, but it escapes me. . .”

  “Is it something from your past?” Whitley prompted. “Like from when you were an angel?”

  Kerr had forgotten that the Maladies had once been angels. It was hard to imagine any of them watching over mankind or helping anyone. He knew Joe had changed and wanted to fight on their side, but it troubled him to think about what would happen when the Maladies realized they’d lost one of their own.

  “What was your name before you became a Malady?” Kerr asked Joe.

  “I was once called Josiah, for I burned with the fire of my Lord,” Joe replied in a voice that demonstrated the strength and power he once wielded.

  “Josiah. I like it,” Whitley said quietly.

  “Well, I don’t deserve that name any longer. Maybe someday I will be worthy of that fire again,” Joe said sadly.

  Kerr nodded and placed a hand on Joe’s shoulder. He knew the struggle the man was experiencing was causing him a lot of pain and concern. He could see glimpses of the angel he had been before, but there was something missing. Kerr couldn’t quite determine what he was feeling, but it wasn’t human or divine. It was darker, older, and mysterious. The man who stood before him was vastly different from the angel he had been; not only in deed, but also in physical make-up.

  Kerr looked once more at Joe. The man didn’t seem to realize that Kerr had seen something lurking beneath the surface. He knew something about the vision Kerr had just experienced, but he either didn’t entirely remember it or was holding back. Either way, Kerr planned to find out.

  Chapter Five:

  Hadley

  Hadley loved the feeling of Thatcher’s arms around her. She had missed him so much while he was in Eternity. To him, it had only been a few hours, but to her it had been a week and a half.

  “What do you think of Joe?” Hadley asked Thatcher.

  “I think he seems to be trying to change. Kerr believes him, so we should give him a chance too,” Thatcher said.

  “I agree. But I’m a little nervous about the attachment Whitley seems to be forming to him,” Hadley admitted.

  Thatcher shifted her body so she was facing him. He kissed her forehead then lifted her chin so their eyes met. “I understand why you’re worried, but Whitley is a big girl. She can take care of herself. But if he hurts her, we’ll be there to defend her and pick up the pieces.”

  “That’s why I love you, Mr. Kline.”

  “It’s not because I can kick your ass at Mario Kart?”

  “Oh puh-lease. We both know that I let you win so you can feel all manly and superior.”

  “No matter how many times you say that, it isn’t going to make it true.”

  Hadley pouted at her husband as she did every time they had this conversation. Thatcher had taken to tickling her when she won, and while she loved her husband, she hated being tickled.

  “How was Malcolm?”

  “He’s changed so much. I think he’s even changed since we were in Eternity with him the first time. It’s clear the Creator trusts him since he’s put him in charge of such a big project.”

  Hadley nodded. She had been troubled when Thatcher told them about the new processing area in Eternity. The idea of so many lives lost made a ball form in the pit of her stomach. They had succeeded in adding to their numbers, but it seemed like nothing compared to the amount of souls that seemed to belong to the Maladies.

  They had encountered so many people who just didn’t care about what happened to the world around them and as a result of their complacency had been claimed by the other side. The people who would stand with the Evolved had made their choice; they chose to fight.

  As Hadley lay in bed thinking about the ever-growing number of problems they had to deal with, she found herself wondering about her future. What would it look like to have a family and home without all the battles and cryptic prophecies? Would they be able to have a normal life after they defeated the Maladies, or would a new threat emerge? She sighed deeply and snuggled in to Thatcher.

  “Wake up, sleepyhead,” Thatcher whispered as he traced the bridge of her nose.

  “Mmmmm.”

  “I wanted to see you again before I leave with Kerr this morning.”

  “Why’re you leaving?”

  “I guess some pastor swears he saw a demon burst out of Old Faithful when it blew.”

  Hadley opened her eyes and looked up at Thatcher with furrowed brows. “What do you mean by demon?”

  “He says it had horns and everything. Disappeared right before his eyes.”

  “Right. And we’re sure he didn’t hit his head?”

  “According to the reports he had some pretty severe burns, but no other injuries. Dorian says that the traditional idea of a demon is essentially perpetuated by the existence of the Maladies. But, he’d feel better if we at least talk to the guy.”

  “I’ve read the books. What most people would describe as a demon simply doesn’t exist. I think you’ll find he’s a few fries short of a Happy Meal.” Hadley paused. “How long will you be gone?”

  “We’ll be back before dinner.”

  Thatcher leaned down and kissed the tip of her nose. Hadley grinned and pulled him in for a deeper kiss.

  “If you keep that up, Mrs. Kline, I won’t be able to accompany Kerr on this trip. I think he’d be quite disappointed.”

  “Go on then. Get out of here.”

  “I love you, Had.”

  “I love you too, Thatcher.”

  Chapter Six:

  Kerr

  Nora transported them to a hospital in Cody, Wyoming. The pastor had suffered 3rd degree burns and was still being treated with the other survivors. He and Thatcher approached the visitor’s desk when they entered the front lobby.

  “Hi there! Welcome to West Park Hospital. My name is Ellie. Can I help you?”

  “I hope so. We’re looking for Pastor Jeff. We were told he was still here,” Kerr said.

  “Let me just check on that. Do you have a last name for Pastor Jeff?”

  “Trumble.”

  “Yes, here he is. He’s in room 203. Oh my! He was one of the survivors from the eruption at Yosemite. Lucky man.”

  “We like to think he had someone watching out for him,” Thatcher interjected.

  Ellie nodded solemnly and pointed in the direction of the elevator. When they got in Thatcher cleared his throat.

  “So what are you thinking? Is this guy crazy, or do we have some new threat to deal with?”

  “I honestly don’t know. Guess we’ll have to talk to him and find out. I’ll be able to see what he saw when I meet him.”

  The elevator arrived on the second floor and they stepped off. The sign in front of them announced that they would find his room to the left. Kerr paused briefly before knocking on the door. He wasn’t sure what they would find, and he didn’t know which option he preferred: crazy or worse.

  “Yes?”

  He pushed the door open and popped his head inside. He found a man propped up in the bed. The man had brown hair, but the gray was beginning to appear. “Hello, Pastor Jeff, my name is Kerr. My friend and I would like to talk to you about what happened yesterday.”

  “No offense, but I’m not in the frame of mind to speak to any reporters.”

  “Oh no, we’re not reporters. We were curious about what you saw come out of the geyser,” Kerr said.

  “Come on in, son.”

  “This is Thatcher,” Kerr said.

  “So are you boys here to make fun of me?”

  “Absolutely not. We’re just interested in the . . . demon you saw,” Thatcher said.

&nbs
p; As Jeff began to describe what he saw, the picture was painted for Kerr in his mind. Jeff witnessed the eruption from a safe distance but was devastated at losing so many people. He had been visiting the park with his wife of thirty-two years. It was their anniversary, and he wanted to take her back to the place he had proposed. The ground began to shake, and people grew excited as they waited for Old Faithful to spring up. Instead of water and steam, fire and lava burst forth from the ground. There were screams everywhere. Jeff shielded his eyes at first, but when he opened them he saw something in the lava. There was an impossibly large being in the middle of the fire. It had large curved horns and skin like molten lava. The thing looked directly at Jeff before disappearing. When the demon locked eyes with him, Kerr felt his hair stand on end.

  “What happened to your wife?” Thatcher asked.

  “She’s in rough shape, but they think she’ll be alright. She’s in the ICU on the first floor. We’ll both be scarred, but we’re alive.” He paused before asking, “Do you believe me?”

  “Yes. We do,” Kerr said firmly. “I know you’re a man of faith, so I won’t beat around the bush. We’re here because we needed to meet you so I could confirm your story.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  Kerr nodded. It was time to get down to business.

  “Pastor, we came here because we are preparing for battle,” Kerr said.

  The man before him gave him a blank look but didn’t stop him.

  “My friend and I have been given abilities, and we were created to protect mankind. I know it sounds crazy, but it’s the truth. I am able to see what you’ve seen, and I can read your intentions. I know what you saw, and I know you’re not lying to us.”

  “You saw what I saw? But how?”

  “I really can’t explain it. I guess it’s kind of like seeing a video montage; I don’t see it all, but I see the important parts that stick out in your mind.”

  “And what about him?” Jeff gestured toward Thatcher.

  “I don’t know that you’ll like my gift after everything you’ve been through.”

  “Try me.”

  Thatcher shared a strained look with Kerr as he stood and stepped away from the hospital bed. Kerr gave him an encouraging nod. Thatcher held out a flat hand and summoned a small flame in his palm.

  “How did you do that?”

  “I don’t really know. I’ve been able to summon and control fire since my fourth birthday.”

  Jeff sat in his hospital bed looking back and forth between the two Evolved in his room. Kerr waited patiently as he worked through the shock in his mind. Jeff was a man of God and a true believer. Kerr knew he would be a strong ally if they hadn’t scared him off.

  “I’ve always believed that God chose me for this work for a reason. And I wouldn’t be much of a servant if I didn’t accept what He puts before me. I might be certifiable for this, but I believe you too.”

  Kerr smiled widely at the man before him and began to tell him about his true Creator.

  When they returned home, they filled the others in on their conversation with Pastor Trumble. He had agreed to help them gather followers to support them in the final battle.

  Later, Kerr found himself sitting with Joe and Thatcher as they played Mortal Kombat. They laughed together as Thatcher’s character pummeled Joe’s. As Kerr watched Joe, he began to unlock more of his lost memories. He saw Joe with the other Maladies while they were still locked in the Underworld of Eternity. One of the memories caught him off guard as he felt a familiar cool breeze rush from behind him and into Rage and Avarice, the whispers following them all the way.

  Chapter Seven:

  Nora

  Not having Keira home was difficult. She knew it was the best choice, but she couldn’t help but feel empty without her daughter. After Kerr’s vision, Nora had been filled with renewed determination to do more research and plan their next move. The sooner they built the army that would fight for the Creator, the sooner she would be reunited with her daughter. She closed her eyes to fight back the tears that threatened to surface as she thought of Keira. Normally, the little girl would have come bounding into her room to wake her with kisses and snuggles. She was always so full of life and energy that Nora felt as though the lights were dimmer and colors were duller without her home.

  Pushing aside thoughts of Keira, she hopped in the shower ready to get started in the library with Dorian and Romulus. When she was sufficiently clean, she ran a brush through her hair and put it in a French braid.

  When she finished dressing, Kerr came up behind her and kissed her neck. “Doing okay, babe?”

  “Yes. Are you?” she asked.

  Kerr gently turned her until she was facing him. He placed a hand on each of her shoulders and looked deeply into her eyes.

  “I miss her too,” Kerr said.

  “It’s more than that. There are so many uncertainties. Everyone is looking to me for guidance, and I don’t know if I’m strong enough to give it. Right now, all I want is to figure out what’s coming next. I need to know what your vision meant. I need to know what you were seeing in Joe’s memories.”

  “I completely understand. I’m ready to put this all behind us, but we have to trust that everything will be revealed to us at the right time,” he replied.

  Nora nodded. She knew he was right. She grabbed her hoodie and led the way down to the kitchen. After they’d eaten breakfast, Nora made her way into the library. It was time to do some research.

  Afterward, Kerr told her the similarities between his vision and the memory he unlocked in Joe’s mind. Something about the breeze and the whispers that traveled with it had sparked a thought in her mind.

  She found Dorian at his computer. He looked up at her and nodded an acknowledgement. Nora faced the bookshelf and contemplated her options. There had to be a book that gave more details on the Maladies.

  “Dorian, what do you have that can tell me a little more about the Maladies?”

  “Nothing.”

  Nora turned in surprise. “What?”

  “We have nothing on them. We only have the information you’ve already read about them. They were trapped in the sphere, they were released, and they started doing whatever Absalom told them to.”

  “So we don’t know what they were up to while they were locked away?”

  Dorian looked lost for a moment. “What do you mean what they were up to? They were trying to get out.”

  “Do you know anything about the whispers?”

  “What whispers?”

  Nora sat down and told Dorian what Kerr had seen. Dorian stopped her when she told him about the breeze that carried the whispers to the man.

  “Something about that sounds familiar to me. You say there were whispers and that they surrounded the man before he killed someone?”

  Nora confirmed his statement. She wasn’t sure what he was thinking, but it was fairly obvious that something had struck him about the story. Dorian went to the bookshelf and started reaching for titles. He kept pulling books out and setting them aside or placing them back on the shelf.

  “Here, I think what we’re looking for is in these.”

  Nora looked at the books he’d piled around them. They were filled with stories of the Middle East. Nora recalled that Kerr said he was sure the village he’d visited in his vision was in the Middle East. She reached for the first book on the pile and found One Thousand and One Nights.

  “Not to be a pain, but I doubt we’re going to find what we’re looking for in here.” She laughed.

  “Not exactly, no, but some of the folktales within that collection hold a grain of truth. What we are looking for is the jinn.”

  “Like a genie? Like three wishes? Come on, Dorian.”

  “First of all, the jinn are nothing like the genies of pop culture. Second of all, they don’t exactly grant wishes.”

  Nora gave him a confused look but decided to dive into the books before her. At some point, Romulus and Kerr joined them,
and they too began pouring over the tomes Dorian had chosen. Nora was beginning to tire of reading and not finding anything useful when she stumbled upon a few sentences more promising than anything else she’d read.

  “I think I’ve found something,” Nora said, breaking the silence. “Here it says that a jinni, the singular form of jinn, can whisper to man and lead him astray from Allah. Isn’t that basically what the Maladies did when they first fell from grace? Didn’t they try to corrupt the souls of man by getting them to do the opposite of what the Creator wanted?”

  Kerr nodded his head. “That’s what I gathered from the visions I’ve had of them. And that would explain why I heard the same whispers returning to Rage and Avarice in the cave after I heard those whispers leading a man to murder someone for his wife.”

  Nora tried to wrap her mind around the idea that angels had become jinn. If she thought about it too long, it would likely turn into one of those “which came first” questions. Had they become jinn because of their actions, or had jinn been created because the Maladies had come into being?

  “We need to find someone who knows more about this. We need an expert on Islamic tradition,” Nora instructed.

  “I know just the man,” Dorian said as he went to his computer. “I’ll send him an email now.”

  Nora sighed. She felt like they were finally making some headway in figuring out what exactly was going on. If the Maladies were more than they seemed, it would explain a lot of what was happening with the world.

  Chapter Eight:

  Dorian

  He received a response almost immediately from Dr. Faik-Imaan Hafeez, professor of Middle Eastern History and Folklore at the University of Michigan. He agreed to meet with them at their earliest convenience. They replied and told him they’d meet him right away. Nora whisked them off to visit the professor.