by R. D. Brady
Ralph shook his head. “Don’t know. Only two archangels know the location of the tree.”
“Okay, who are they?” Jake asked.
“The one who guards the tree and the one who guarded the tree before.”
“Great. Well, let’s just go chat with one of them,” Jake said.
Ralph looked uneasy. “The only one we would be able to speak with is the prior guard. But he can be difficult.”
Laney stood. “Well, we’ll be sure to be very convincing.”
Ralph looked at each of them. “I think it would be better if just Laney and I went.”
“Why?” Jake demanded. “Is he scared of the triad?”
Ralph shook his head with a sigh. “No. He just has a thing for good-looking women.”
CHAPTER 47
Jorgen narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean there was gunfight involving Victoria?”
Sean stood at attention in front of Jorgen. “The Fallen have both Victoria and the child as planned. And Chandler did learn of their location.”
“So they now have Victoria?”
“No, sir. They did not reacquire Ms. Chandler.”
“You’re telling me Henry Chandler, Jake Rogan, and Laney McPhearson failed?”
“No, sir. I’m telling you they were not at the airport.”
They sent the B team. Jorgen shook his head. He supposed it was too much to hope they’d be able to reach her in time.
How much more of a trail can I leave for the idiots? “Victoria was not harmed?”
“No, sir.”
“Good. Has our friend told us where Elisabeta is headed?”
“Yes, sir. To Pennsylvania to change jets, and then they’re waiting for Max Simmons to give them a location.”
Jorgen drummed his hands on the table. What a waste of fuel, trailing them all over the place. “And what about the Chandler group? Where are they?”
“Apparently one of the Chandler jets is being fueled up in Baltimore, although I don’t have a destination.”
Probably going to find an archangel. It’s really their only chance.
“Very well. Let’s head to Pennsylvania. Stay close enough that we can be in the air as soon as we receive word.”
Sean gave Jorgen an abrupt nod. “Yes, sir.”
CHAPTER 48
Laney jogged the path from the main house to her cottage on Sharecropper Lane. She and Ralph would leave immediately for Vegas, where the archangel was located. It had taken Laney a moment to wrap her head around that idea. An archangel in Vegas.
Jake had wanted to come too, but Ralph had insisted that they would get further with just him and Laney. And even then he wasn’t entirely optimistic that they would be successful.
So Henry and Jake had had to settle for following closely behind with supplies and men. It was a gamble. But Laney was hoping that the second archangel would be close to the first. Which meant, they’d get their quicker from Vegas.
But honestly, it was all just a big guess. By moving everyone across the country, they could be going in the completely wrong direction. So as a hedge, they were leaving Jordan and Jen in charge of the second group on the east coast.
Laney glanced at her watch. She had twenty minutes before they were leaving. She needed to grab her go-bag from her cottage, but she also really needed answers to her questions. Because she was really hoping they could forgo meeting with a difficult archangel and just head straight to the Garden of Eden.
Laney cut along the back of the cottages and pushed open the gate to her little yard. Normally the site of hydrangeas, roses, daisies, and another dozen flowers in the back of her yard filled her with joy. Today, she barely spared them a glance.
She looked up and said a quick thank-you that her uncle had gotten her message.
He stood up from the chair on the back porch. “Laney? What’s going on?”
Laney hurried past him, opened the door, and made her way to the hall closet. Patrick followed. She pulled her bag from the top shelf and turned to him. “I need some information.”
“About?”
“The tree of life.”
His eyebrows shot up, and Laney quickly explained that they believed the Fallen were looking for the tree of life in order to achieve immortality.
Patrick sat down on one of the chairs at Laney’s kitchen table, a thoughtful expression on his face.
Laney took a seat across from him. “Uncle Patrick, I know you probably want time to mull things over and come up with a cohesive argument. But I don’t have time for that. I need to know what you know about the tree of life.” She glanced at her watch. “And I need to know in the next ten minutes.”
Patrick’s gaze returned to Laney. “The tree of life. It was in the Garden of Eden.”
“Right. In Genesis, it’s the tree of life that Adam and Eve eat from that results in them being banished from Eden. “
“Actually, that’s not entirely correct.”
“What?”
“It was the other tree.” Patrick smiled. “There wasn’t one tree in the Garden. There were two.”
CHAPTER 49
“Two trees? I don’t remember that.”
Patrick nodded. “Most people focus on the one Bible verse. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat. But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it, for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.’”
“That’s right. I forgot. All those pictures of Adam and Eve—they include just one tree.”
“And a serpent.”
Laney nodded. “But it was the tree of life they were able to eat freely from. And that's what made them immortal."
“So it would seem. But they disobeyed and ate from the tree of knowledge. As a result of eating from that tree, their eyes were opened and they realized their sins.”
Laney was intrigued by the idea of a tree of knowledge, but right now wasn’t the time to go into that. “Okay. Let’s focus on the tree of life. It was in the Garden of Eden, and I know there have been archaeological efforts aimed at uncovering it. Do you have any thoughts on where the Garden of Eden might be located?”
“Well, that’s the problem. No one really knows. According to Genesis, it was located near four rivers: Pishon, Gihon, Tigris, and Euphrates. But no one knows when it was alleged to exist. And topography has changed dramatically over thousands of years.”
“Yeah, but the Tigris and Euphrates are still around.”
“True, but that hasn’t stopped people from throwing around all kinds of possible locations—Iran, Africa… even Jackson County, Missouri.”
“Jackson County, Missouri? Seriously?”
“According to Mormon founder Joseph Smith, that’s where it was.”
“Why on earth would he think that?
Patrick shrugged. “I don’t know. But most scholars agree the Garden was most likely originally located somewhere in the Persian Gulf. Although the river of Pishon was supposed to extend into the land of Cush, meaning Africa, which also makes that a possibility.”
“If most agree it’s in the Persian Gulf, would you say that’s where we should start?”
“Well, some of those suggest that it’s in the Persian Gulf, and others suggest that it’s under it.”
Laney closed her eyes and groaned. Oh, come on.
Patrick sat back, his hand on his chin. “And didn’t Cayce suggest there was more than one Eden?”
Laney groaned again. “I’d forgotten about that.”
Edgar Cayce had said that humanity had sprung up in five places at once. Although if she remembered correctly, he seemed to think the actual Biblical Garden of Eden was in Persia and the Carpathian Mountains.
She had hoped speaking with her uncle would help her zero in on a location, or at least a part of the world. That way she could send Henry and Jake ahead. But this conversation was just making her head hurt. She was beginning to feel like the whole situation was hopeles
s.
“Okay. Let’s ignore Cayce for the moment, and all the other noise. Where do you think the most likely location for Eden is?”
Patrick sat back, and Laney could practically see the gears shifting in his head. She tried not to glance at her watch, but she was very aware of time passing.
“Actually, some recent archaeological finds have suggested a new location that may be much more promising.”
“Okay. Where?”
He gave her a small smile. “Gobekli Tepe.”
CHAPTER 50
Laney didn’t think she could have been more surprised if her uncle had said Jackson County, Mississippi. “Gobekli Tepe?”
The archaeological site of Gobekli Tepe was where all of this had begun. Her friend Drew had sent her a paper about his work on Gobekli Tepe. It was that paper which had led to Azazyel tracking her down—and so had kicked off the series of events that had brought her to her current life.
But even with all the negative events surrounding her experience with Gobekli Tepe, she understood people’s fascination with the ancient site. There were so many aspects of Gobekli Tepe that simply boggled the mind. For instance, objects at the site had been carbon-dated to an astounding twelve thousand years BCE. And yet the artistry of those objects was simply unheard of for that time period.
Forty-five T-shaped obelisks had been unearthed at Gobekli Tepe, and it was believed that hundreds more were still waiting under the earth to see the light of day. The ones that had been uncovered depicted not only humans but ancient animals, many of which were not indigenous to the area. These pillars were arranged in concentric circles, like at Stonehenge, but the ones at Gobekli Tepe covered an astounding eighteen thousand square miles.
Some scholars even suggested that the location was a stone version of Noah’s ark. But Laney had never heard of it being linked to the Garden of Eden.
Patrick nodded. “Some have argued that the location is actually a temple to the Garden of Eden.”
“Why would they suggest that?”
“The images on the obelisks reveal the fall of man—from living in paradise to toiling in the soil. And they even go so far as to show the physical changes in man. We were depicted as more robust initially, and eventually we were skinnier, with less muscle.”
Laney knew that that was an accurate portrayal of how humans would have changed as they shifted from a more nomadic lifestyle to a more settled lifestyle. With civilization came the difficulties of providing enough protein to maintain muscle mass.
“I can’t be certain, but I believe the Garden of Eden was nearby,” Patrick said. “The Persian Gulf is simply the most reasonable location for it.”
Laney stood. “So you think Gobekli Tepe is close to the original garden of Eden?”
Patrick nodded. “Yes.”
“Good. I’m going to have Henry and Jake prep and head there.”
An electrical shock rolled through Laney and she gripped the island. Gritting her teeth, she looked over at the doorway.
“Unfortunately, it’s not going to be that easy,” Ralph said, entering.
Frustration washed over Laney. “Why not?”
“Because when humans were expelled from the Garden, the tree was moved.”
“The tree was moved? Are you kidding me?” Laney asked.
“I’m afraid not,” Ralph said. He nodded at Patrick. “And it’s time to go.”
Laney looked back at Patrick. “Is he right?”
Patrick shrugged. “The last mention of the Garden is after humans are expelled. An archangel is said to have been put in place to guard the entry to it.”
“That’s correct,” Ralph said. “But from time to time, humans have gotten close. So the Garden and its contents had to be moved.”
“Moved where?”
“Only two archangels have that information.”
“Which means your friend in Vegas,” Laney said.
“Yes. He is the only one who knows where it is.”
“Do you think he’ll tell us?” Laney asked.
Ralph looked at Patrick before his gaze met Laney’s. “No.”
CHAPTER 51
Victoria rubbed Max’s back as he slept next to her. He whimpered a little in his sleep, and the sounds tore at Victoria’s heart.
The landing gear was deployed and the jet gave a shudder. Max’s eyes sprang wide open.
“Shh, shh, it’s okay. We’re just landing, that’s all,” Victoria said.
Max scooted into a sitting position and tucked himself into Victoria’s side. “You stayed.”
She smiled. “I wouldn’t leave you behind.”
“I couldn’t see if you would or not.”
Victoria sighed, pulling him into her side. “It’s got to be difficult seeing what’s going to happen.”
Max shrugged but said nothing.
“Are you hungry?”
Max nodded.
Victoria pulled over the bag of chips she had been offered while Max slept. She’d known he’d need something, and this was apparently as good as it got right now. She opened the bag and Max dug in. Victoria opened a water for him and handed it over. He took a long swallow before handing it back to her.
“Better?” Victoria asked.
“Yes, thank you.” Max looked around. “Where is she?”
Victoria nodded toward the back of the plane. “Back there. She probably won’t be out until we land.” Victoria hesitated. “She wants you to tell her where the tree is.”
“We can’t go there yet. It’s not time.”
Victoria glanced around to make sure no one else could hear them. “Max, if you know where it is, you need to tell them. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“I know. But there’s somewhere we need to go first.”
“Where?”
He looked up at her with his little boy face, but his words were from a much older soul. “Back to where it all began.”
CHAPTER 52
Laney stretched her back as she stood in the doorway of the Chandler jet at McCarran airport. She had slept a little on the plane. Vegas was three hours behind Baltimore, so it was actually early evening.
A town car pulled up only a little away from the stairs, and Ralph headed down toward it. To her right, Laney could see the Strip in the distance. Back in Vegas. Before this all began, she’d never been to Vegas. Now she’d been here more times than she liked to think about.
She peered in the distance to the north. The sister site to Gobekli Tepe was somewhere out there, in Montana. Gobekli Tepe. Everything began with Gobekli Tepe, and now it seemed as though she was coming full circle.
A chill ran through her. Almost like everything’s ending. She shoved the morbid thought aside. No. This was just one more situation they needed to overcome. That was all. But the sense of doom still lingered in the back of her mind, just as it had ever since her uncle had mentioned the ancient site.
Patrick stepped up beside her. They had decided it might be helpful to have Patrick nearby if they needed any more archaeological or religious help. He hugged her tight. “Be careful.”
“I will.” She headed down the stairs. She stopped at the bottom and looked back up. “If you see any trace of the Fallen…”
“I will make sure we take off as fast as humanly possible.”
Humanly possible. She winced at his choice of words. She hoped humanly fast would be fast enough.
“Go, Laney. You can’t protect everyone at the same time. There are things you need to do.”
She nodded, knowing he was right and wishing he wasn’t. She slid into the back seat of the car next to Ralph and closed the door.
“So, where exactly are we going?”
“To the Illustra,” Ralph said, naming one of the newer hotels on the Strip.
“Your friend’s there?”
Ralph grimaced. “I wouldn’t exactly call him a ‘friend,’ but yes—he’s there.”
Laney watched as the Strip loomed closer. Even from here she could see
the ads for a handful of shows. Entertainers’ pictures were plastered across buildings, ten stories high.
One of the posters was of David Copperfield; Laney remembered his TV specials she’d seen as a kid. In one he’d made the Statute of Liberty disappear. She looked up at his face. Either they had airbrushed the heck out of the poster, or the man hadn’t changed in years.
They took one of the roads that paralleled the Strip to avoid the bumper-to-bumper traffic. Laney looked out her window and shook her head.
“What is it?” Ralph asked. “You don’t approve?”
“No, it’s not that. It’s just, I’ve been here for almost every Fallen-related situation I’ve been involved in. I can’t figure out why.”
Ralph was quiet for a moment. “There are different places in the world that have an aura, a feeling to them that draws people in. Some are incredibly beautiful spots, like the Grand Canyon and the national parks near here. They draw people in just to be mesmerized and filled with peace. Others sites attract a baser nature.”
Laney thought about what they had learned about Mount Hermon a few months ago. Alleged to hide the gates to hell, it had attracted humans interested less in the wellbeing of their fellow man and more in the satisfaction of their own individual interests.
Laney surveyed the overly developed buildings that made up Las Vegas’s superhotels. The city itself had begun as a place where couples could get quickie divorces in the early 1900s. Casinos followed, and then Las Vegas was born.
Laney looked toward the west. Back in 1945, you would have even been able to have seen the test of the first atomic bomb.
Was Ralph right? Did this place draw evil in? Or was it simply a tourist destination where people could relax for a little while?
Of course, either way the hedonism would appeal to the Fallen.
A vision of Lou wafted through Laney’s brain. But what about the good Fallen? It wasn’t black and white. Just as with humans, there were bad Fallen and there were good Fallen, and everything in between.