by Karl Morgan
“Yes, but if she goes and succeeds, we have a chance to win,” Carl said.
“Those odds suck. How much time do we have to decide?”
Carl shrugged. “There’s no way of knowing. Sylvia could act at any time, although her armies give me some hope.”
“So, we have no time?”
Carl nodded. “Yes, that’s basically correct.” He stood and extended his hands. “If you and Aida take my hands, we can get started now.”
Whitehall looked at her daughter who nodded. Both stood and approached the teen.
“Good luck!” Burt and Grace said in unison.
The women took his hands, and the three faded away.
Death stepped out of his cabin and stopped cold when he saw the three. “I wasn’t expecting you so soon, but welcome.”
“Manny, I thought if they were here, they could take some time to think about the trip on the Rope Bridge without increasing the danger.”
“His name is Mort, Prescott,” Whitehall noted.
“Oh yeah, Mort.”
“That’s makes some sense, but we’re still impacted by time here. It’s much less, but still a factor. I’m a little busy after all the battles going on. I have a fresh pot of coffee and a new batch of stew on the fire. See you all later.” He stepped onto the ornate bridge, headed away, and disappeared into the fog.
The three went inside. Knowing the women had matters to discuss, Carl took a cup of coffee and mug of stew out front. He sat on a chair that had materialized near the end of the Rope Bridge. He set the coffee down and took a spoonful of stew. After he swallowed, he said, “I have to ask for this recipe. It’s awesome.”
After an hour or two had not passed, he woke to find the cold stew mug still on his lap. The fog on the Rope Bridge had expanded and now reached right to the edge of the cliff face. As he watched, the fog lifted. The opposite side of the Rope Bridge was less than a foot from the near end. Joshua and Sid stepped across the gap and joined him. Carl set the mug down and stood. “Carl, you’ve put us in a difficult position.”
“How so, Josh?”
“We expect that Aida already knows the answers you gave.”
“I didn’t tell her.”
Sid added, “Well, if you decide to join with her, she will know.”
“I’m sorry, but I’m not going to let her do attempt the Rope Bridge on her own.”
Josh replied, “That’s why we’re here, Carl. I will go with her.”
“You will? But there’s a chance you could die?”
Joshua put his hand on Carl’s shoulder. “I know I look like a living person, but I am just spirit, and as you know, spirits are immortal.”
“Before we go, please take us to meet the ladies who accompanied you,” Sid said.
Carl led them into the cabin. Aida and her mother were seated at a small table. Both had tears in their eyes. Aida noticed the arrivals and walked over to join them. She hugged Joshua and extended her hand to the other man. “I’m Aida Whitehall, and this is my mother.”
Sid bowed and said, “Yes, I know who you are. My name is Siddhartha Gautama, but you may call me Sid.”
Dean Whitehall rose and joined them. “You’re the Buddha?”
“Just Sid is fine. I must apologize for these meager quarters, but Mort likes to project a pauper’s existence.”
“It’s okay. I stayed here when Carl took the Rope Bridge as well,” Whitehall replied.
Joshua nodded and smiled. “I will accompany Aida on her journey instead of Carl. There is too much danger to have both living Invisible Hands at risk. Carl’s special relationship with the demon queen may give us more time. If Aida and I fail, he will be on his own.”
Aida shivered. “Carl, I’m scared.”
Carl put his arm around her shoulders. “I’ll go with you if you want me to. I think we’ll have enough time.”
Sid said, “That just wishful thinking on your part. Aida, do you trust Joshua?”
She nodded. “He’s the Son of God, so of course I do. It’s okay now. I understand what has to happen.”
Whitehall said, “Well, I’m not so sure. My daughter and I need to discuss this. Could the rest of you step outside?”
“Of course, Dean Whitehall,” Carl said, and the three men exited.
“Honey, are you sure you trust that man?”
Aida wiped a tear from her eye. “Absolutely, Mom. He’s Jesus Christ.”
Outside the cabin, Joshua spoke with Carl while Sid watched the door of the cabin to ensure the others were not overhead. “I want to tell you something, but I don’t want you to mention it to Aida now.”
“Okay, Josh.”
“You are now a member of the Rope Bridge Society, but I suppose you probably guessed that already.”
Carl thought for a moment. “At the time, I was in a hurry to get back, so I never gave it a thought.”
“Well, being a member of the society comes with a few perks. If you allow it, I can share what’s happening to us on the bridge with you. It might seem like visions or dreams, but you’ll see if anything significant is about to happen.”
“Thanks. I really appreciate that.”
Sid gave an anxious look to Josh, who put his arm around Carl’s shoulder and led him away from the cabin. “It’s more than that. If there is a critical moment along the way, you can join us, as spirit.”
Carl’s jaw dropped. “That’s awesome.”
“Yeah, but it won’t change reality. You can appear physically there, but you’ll still be like me, Aida will be alone because our physical forms are an illusion.”
Carl raised an eyebrow. “That made me think of some things that happened while I was on the bridge. At one point, Barbie and Sylvia got into an argument. Sylvia pushed Barbie over the side. A few seconds later, the silver thread pulled her over as well. The next thing I knew, I was struggling not to be pulled over myself. If they weren’t really there, why did that happen?”
Joshua nodded knowingly. “That was because you perceived them to be real and, therefore, had weight. Now, imagine that happens with her and either of us. Aida may not be able to hold on because she realizes our physical weights are much more than hers. Now, you know those things are illusions. Aida does not. If something happens where you or I get thrown off, the odds of her success go down dramatically.”
Carl groaned and turned around. “This is hopeless.”
“No, it isn’t. Now that you know the problem, we can help her through it. It is critical that you understand the risk though.”
“Thank you. I understand.”
The cabin door opened, and the two women stepped out. Joshua put his hand on Carl’s shoulder. “Now, go say your goodbyes. I think it is important that you and her mother leave before I move my spirit into Aida’s body.”
Chapter 15
When Carl and Dean Whitehall reappeared in the Gratia Dei Hall, the room was empty. They could hear people shouting and running through the hallway. Carl looked out the window. A long line of soldiers wielding lances was approaching. They wore chain-mail and helmets. “Dean, you have to get to the third basement of the main building. The school is under attack.” She rushed out of the room. Carl vanished and reappeared outside, halfway between the building and the advancing forces. A squad of a hundred bowmen behind the lancers launched their arrows into the air. The projectiles reached their peak and turned down toward the teen. Carl closed his eyes. The arrows passed through him as though he was not there and embedded themselves into the ground. Carl wagged a finger at them. “Is that all you got, boys?” he shouted.
An opening formed in the line of troops, and three knights holding their swords high to strike rode their steeds toward him. When they were fifty feet away, their horses turned into sheep, and the knights tumbled to the ground. Two of the three were incapacitated by the fall, and the other struggled to move. “Sorry about that!” Carl shouted.
The third knight removed his helmet and after several moments was able to climb to hi
s feet. He began to move forward with his sword at the ready. “Stupid boy,” he said and then spat blood.
Carl pointed at him. “I remember you. I saw you in the throne room when Sylvia murdered the monk. You’re one of the original courtesans.” The attacker did not reply. “So, you’re the one forcing these men to fight, eh?”
“I will be a god when I kill you, Carl Prescott. Did you know that?”
“I’m so scared,” Carl said and then laughed.
The knight was feet away. He raised his blade for the killing blow. The arrows stuck in the ground began to quiver. “Die like a man, Carl.” As he began his downswing, the arrows came out of the ground, turned, and shot forward. They flew through Carl and pierced the knight’s armor, with two more buried in his forehead. He fell backwards onto the grass dead. His remains looked like a pincushion.
“You archers need to take better aim!” Carl shouted.
The lancers seemed uncertain what to do. Carl got into a boxer’s stance and raised his fists. The lancers charged.
When they were twenty feet away, their lances turned into snakes and attacked them. The lancers screamed and tried to get away. The rest of the army behind them had already fled.
Carl said, “It’s okay. They’re not venomous.”
A few minutes later, the snakes had abandoned the attack and moved away. Most of the lancers were sitting on the grass nursing snake-bites or comforting their fellow warriors.
Carl walked over to them. He stopped at the first wounded man and put his hand on the bite. When he removed his hand, the injury was gone. “Do you know where you are?”
“Romania?” He looked around. “This doesn’t look like home to me.”
“Why are you wearing that uniform?”
“What uniform?” Carl rolled his eyes and pointed to the man’s attire and that of the others.
“How did this happen? Why have you conscripted us and brought us here?”
Carl noticed the headmaster and dean headed toward him. “I didn’t.” He extended his hand. “I’m Carl Prescott.”
The man shook his hand. “Why do I know that name? I have never seen you, but I know that is your name.”
“And you are?”
“My apologies. My name is Stefan.”
Carl pointed to the two approaching. “Those are my friends, Headmaster Dorchester and Dean Whitehall. They will help you. I need to assist the other wounded.” Carl patted him on the shoulder and walked away.
After helping the wounded and explaining the situation to the teachers, Carl continued further away from the school to discover how the soldiers had breached the walls. After another short walk, he arrived at the breach. Blocks from the wall littered the ground inside. He could see an encampment on the opposite side of the wall, so he stepped through. All activity stopped as the surprised soldiers noticed the teenager near the breach. Fifty yards ahead stood three trebuchets. “Sweet! I’ve seen them on TV shows but never in real life.” Carl waved his arm behind his back, and the wall reassembled itself. Broken blocks fused to become whole again. There was a collective gasp from the enemy forces. Carl was now surrounded by enemy troops, most of whom bore swords or lances. A tent flap opened, and a woman wearing a courtesan outfit stepped outside with two bowmen by her side. “Hi, I’m Carl. You look familiar too.” After a moment, he added, “I hope that wasn’t your husband leading those other men.”
“Why aren’t you dead yet, boy?” she shouted.
He pointed at himself. “Duh, Invisible Hand. Why are you trying to kill a bunch of kids and their teachers? Didn’t your mommy teach you the difference between right and wrong?”
She hissed at him, pointed her finger, and shouted, “Kill him!”
The bowmen fired. The arrows shot through Carl, turned in midair, passed through him again, and each struck a different trebuchet. The two siege weapons collapsed into kindling. “Oopsy!” Carl laughed.
“I told you to attack!” she screamed as blood vessels popped out on her neck and forehead.
The other troops stepped forward reluctantly. Carl smiled and gave them a thumbs-up. The third trebuchet began to move on its own toward the courtesan. “Don’t worry guys, I don’t want to hurt you.” The troops looked at their comrades and took another small step forward.
“Kill him now, or I’ll kill you!” she screeched again.
The soldiers moved another step.
“Do you think I could borrow one of your weapons?” Carl asked. The soldiers stopped and looked about at their fellows.
“Kill, kill, kill!” she hollered.
Carl pointed to one of the lancers. “Yours will do.” The lance flew out of his hand and Carl grabbed it out of the air. He threw it toward the trebuchet. The lance struck the firing mechanism, and the sling moved up and over. The boulder in its sling slammed down onto the courtesan, smashing her dead body into the ground.
The soldiers stopped, noticed the weapons in their hands, and dropped them to the ground. One of them asked, “What happened?”
An hour later, Carl was summoned to the headmaster’s office. Dorchester stood at the window, looking at the encampment of former soldiers in the atrium. There was knock and the door. “Come in.” The dean and Carl walked inside. They took seats in front of the headmaster’s desk. Dorchester shook his head and returned to his desk. “Why haven’t those men been sent home, Carl?”
“They are mostly Romanian from near the Danube and the demon queen’s castle. They would just be conscripted again.”
“What about their families?” Whitehall asked.
Carl sighed and looked down. “We can only do what we can. Those men out there were sent on a suicide mission. Sylvia wanted to determine if I was here or perhaps weak enough that they could kill me.” He put his head back and groaned. “Perhaps that would be better.”
“Don’t even think that, Carl!” Dorchester replied. “Without you and Grace, what hope do we have?”
Carl rubbed his temples for a moment and then looked back at the others. “I’m not sure Grace can become an Invisible Hand. Yes, she can see the symbols in the book, but cannot read them. Maybe I’m a freak, or just lucky. Before I became what I am, I had to deal with Greenleaf and Eight being controlled by the Beast. It might have been my desperation to help the Sleeping Ones or Eight constantly calling me the Hand of God that pushed me over. I don’t know.”
Whitehall put her hand on Carl’s knee for a moment. “That’s no reason to wish you were dead.”
Carl stood and walked over to the window. He noticed it was starting to rain. He waved a hand, and a shield covered the atrium to keep the visitors dry. He turned back to the others. “If I were gone, maybe Sylvia would be happy ruling the world and not destroy everything.”
Dorchester began to laugh, and soon Whitehall joined in. “You’d rather the world be enslaved than destroyed? I would prefer the latter.”
Carl smiled. “You’re right. It’s just that things are so out of control, and I may be the only one who can stop it. If I fail, the universe might blink out of existence.” An odd expression moved across his face. “Hold on a second.”
Carl found himself standing on the Rope Bridge. Heavy rain pounded down around him. He could see Aida and Joshua sitting nearby. Joshua had just told a joke, and she was laughing. Carl walked over and sat next to her. “What was so funny?”
A smile lit her face. She threw her arms around him, and pressed her lips to his. “How did you get here?”
“Josh told me I should stop by. By the way, I’m not really here. I’m in the headmaster’s office with your mom.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Well, Sylvia is up to her old tricks, but that’s to be expected. I’m happy that she’s working on taking over the world. At least, that’s better than annihilation. So, tell me the joke?”
Aida grabbed his hands. “What an amazing day we had, Carl! There were tornadoes and then a hurricane. Then, we stopped at the house where Viszreaagh lives. He gave us f
ish and coffee. Later, Josh turned into a lizard, and they went for a swim to catch more fish.”
“Speaking of fish,” Joshua noted.
Her eyes widened. “That was so cool. After we left there, we walked for hours and hours. Finally, the fog cleared beneath the bridge, and we could see an ocean and giant fish under the water. Then Josh asked me to pick him up. Did you know he’s a light as a feather?” Carl shook his head. “I was shocked, as you might expect. Well, then he told me to call him Jonah and I asked why. Just then a giant fish jumped up, grabbed him, and dived back into the water. Of course, you know that silver thread thing, right?”
“Yes, I know it well.”
She laughed. “I was using it like a fishing line to pull the fish and get Josh back. Finally, the fish let him go. That’s when we sat down here, and it started to rain. And now you’re here!”
“The rain was a good idea,” Joshua said. “After being in the fish’s mouth for some time, I was pretty rank.”
Aida held her nose and then laughed. She put her arms around Carl again and held tight. “I’m so glad you came to see me. How long can you stay?”
“He can’t,” Josh stated. “Mischief is afoot again. Aida, I asked Carl to come so he could see you’re doing okay.”
“Thank you.”
Carl nodded. “Yes, thank you.”
“You are both very welcome. Now, kiss your girlfriend like you mean it and then stand up.”
After a long kiss, Carl cupped her face in his hands. “I’m very proud of you, my darling.”
“Thank you. Good luck with the queen.”
Carl stood. “Thanks. I have a feeling I’ll need it.”
Whitehall shook Carl’s shoulder. “Prescott, are you well?”
Carl smiled and looked at her. “I’m fine. I was just on the Rope Bridge with Aida and Joshua. They had a great day, and she’s fine.”
Whitehall grabbed Carl and hugged him. Then she kissed his ear. “Thank you, Carl.” She wiped her eyes and left the office, closing the door behind her.