Memory's Door (A Well Spring Novel)

by Rubart, James L.

  “No. Who is Zennon?”

  “I think you know full well who Zennon is.”

  “Maybe, maybe not, but I swear on the stars beyond the stars beyond the many layered realms of alternate realities that I am not him.” Simon took a coin out of his pocket and rolled it over his fingers. “He uses a gold coin. As you can plainly see, mine is silver.”

  “Are you an angel?”

  “No.” Simon sat on the edge of the fountain and patted the beveled concrete. Marcus stayed standing.

  “Then what are you?”

  Simon leaned back and laughed. “Are you always this direct?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “I meant it when I said we would become friends. Or I should say, I hope we become friends. So let’s ease into things before we talk about diamond rings. Get to know each other a bit first. Chat about the mundane things of the world, then let the deeper things naturally unfurl.” He leaned forward and looked at Marcus from under his eyebrows. “For example, wouldn’t you like to ask me about the invisible deck trick?”

  “I’d prefer to be enlightened on how you knew about the Enchantments photo.”

  Simon wiggled his fingers. “The deck first.”

  “Fine.” If he had to play Simon’s game for a spell, he would. “Were the people in the crowd plants? Did you tell them what card to finish with?”

  “In other words, did I cheat in order to accomplish my stunning feat?”

  “Yes.”

  “I did not.”

  “Then how could you anticipate they would pick the jack of diamonds?”

  “I didn’t.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “It doesn’t matter what card they choose. It will always be the one reversed in the deck.”

  “So how did you accomplish the trick?”

  “As my son said when he was young, ‘maaa-gitch.’” Simon frowned and spoke more to himself than Marcus. “I think I had a son. I did, didn’t I? I mean a real one.”

  “Simon, are you quite well?”

  The magician whipped his head up and scratched his salt-and-pepper goatee. “Sorry, can’t keep it all straight most of the time. I definitely had a real son.” He smiled as if he’d figured out the meaning of quantum mechanics but then his face turned dark. “But he died when he was very young. Years later my wife died too and that’s when—” Simon stopped and waved his hand as if to bat the thought away. “No, no, I won’t be able to explain the trick.” He looked apologetic and bowed his head. “I’m unable to break the magician’s code. But it’s only a trick—not real magic.”

  “It’s one of the best I’ve seen.” Granted, Marcus hadn’t seen a lot of street magic, but if it was true, that the crowd could have picked any card, the trick seemed impossible.

  Simon shook his head and chuckled.

  “Is there something intrinsically humorous about my comment?”

  “Many versed magicians look down on that trick because it’s so common and so simple to do.” He smiled and rubbed his thumbs together. “Overused they’d call it. Beneath them. It relies on a gimmick—trick cards. Not pure sleight of hand, they say.”

  “Regardless, the crowd was enamored. If they hadn’t observed the trick previously—”

  “Exactly.” Simon snapped his fingers. “What is common for some is a miracle for others. It’s all a matter of perspective.”

  “As was my perspective with the bakery incident or the photo of the Enchantments.”

  “Precisely. You’re as bright as advertised.” Simon rolled his silver coin around his fingers again and it vanished on the second pass. “This switching. Common for you, common for me.”

  “Not so common for me.”

  “Or for most of mankind. But it should be for you. You wrote the book. And trust me, they will become more common for you. Of that I’m sure.” He frowned. “Almost sure. Close to sure, you know? Can’t ever tell for certain. When you’ve lived in over four hundred different realities, you can’t be certain about anything.”

  “Four hundred realities?”

  Simon gave a quick nod. “Maybe a few more than that. Lost count.”

  Marcus stared at Simon and asked the Spirit what he was. Human didn’t come into his mind. But nothing else did either. A few seconds later the magician clapped his hands and handed Marcus a business card. All it contained was Simon and a cell phone number.

  “Well now, that was an excellent first session together, don’t you think? In our second session let’s be sure to talk about the Wolf, okay?”

  Heat rose to Marcus’s face. “How do you know about the Wolf?”

  “In time, Mr. Amber, in time.” Simon picked up his leather bag and strolled off.

  Whoever Simon was, he would obviously have a role in this play. Marcus glanced at his watch. In a little over twenty-four hours he’d be with the other Warriors. The time couldn’t come soon enough.

  As he walked toward the garage that held his car, he pulled up his calendar. Tomorrow night: Warriors. Saturday night: Calen over for dinner. What would that be like? Marcus let out a soft moan. He felt like Jesus was telling him it would be far from an ordinary family gathering.

  SEVENTEEN

  REECE SAT AT HIS FIRE PIT ON FRIDAY EVENING AT SEVEN waiting for the others to arrive, knowing he would need to be exactly what Doug said he would need to be in the coming days: stronger than he imagined, able to hear the Spirit with ears that listened well, and fully engaged in their coming battle with the Wolf. He couldn’t see. So what.

  The Spirit had told him the confrontation with the Wolf would be far from what he expected. And that he needed to be ready for that. Wonderful. He had no idea what the battle would be like but he was supposed to anticipate what it would be like?

  The sound of footsteps broke Reece out of his mulling. Had to be Doug. Amazing how he’d learned to identify people by the way their feet fell on grass or floors or ground.

  “How is my fire, Doug? Did I build a good one?”

  “Yes, can’t you feel the heat?”

  “Just checking.” Reece held out his hands and let the flames warm them. “If we send them in tonight, it will be brutal.”

  “It will be brutal any night. They need to go through this,” Doug said, his voice soft.

  “I don’t want to do it.”

  “Neither do I.”

  When Dana arrived the others were already seated around the fire pit in Reece’s backyard. She hated being late, but for some reason the emergencies at the station didn’t care that she had other commitments on her calendar.

  As soon as she sat next to the professor, Reece invited them all to describe what had been happening during the past week. First Marcus told what had happened at the bakery where Kat worked, about the Enchantments photo, and about the strange magician, Simon, he’d met in Red Square at the U-Dub.

  Brandon was next, telling them about his first encounter with Tristan Barrow and then the second one in the park with Dana and Marcus. When he’d finished, Reece turned to Dana.

  It felt odd for her not to have something to describe other than give her impression of the meeting in Kirkland with Tristan and his two companions. She felt as if she’d done something wrong since there was no specific weirdness she could point to. She told them about her promotion simply to have something to say and received congratulations from Brandon and Marcus, but Reece stayed silent. Doug didn’t.

  He cleared his throat. “Just because it isn’t obvious, it doesn’t mean you’re not on the enemy’s radar, Dana. And please consider the truth that a subtle attack can often be far more effective than a direct assault since an attack of subterfuge and nuance is often not noticed till the victim has crawled into the middle of the spider’s web.”

  “Are you talking about my promotion?”

  “Just be aware.”

  “Thanks. I think.”

  Reece slid forward on the bench and turned his head in a slow semicircle as if he could see each of them. “My own story is mundane. The enemy ha
s tried to discourage me and belittle me due to my sight being gone. He’s tried to tell me I’m no longer fit to be your guide. Not subtle. Not unexpected. But nonetheless effective at times. Whether the attack is more overt as in the case with Brandon and the professor or more subdued as with Dana and me, the solution is the same. Stay close to Jesus. Listen to the truth of the Spirit and make no agreement with the lies of the enemy.” Reece sat back. “Doug?”

  “Well said.” He sighed. “My own battle has been with dreams that bring terror to my heart and a lack of sleep that results. However, he is with me, you are with me, and I am with all of you. We must stay strong, dear friends.”

  Reece rubbed his knees. “As you know, if the attacks are intensifying, then we are making the enemy nervous. We need to take heart from that thought. And now let’s get to the next phase of your training. Any additional thoughts, Doug, before the three go in?”

  “We’re going ‘in’ tonight? In where?” Brandon said.

  Doug clasped his hands together. “Yes, you are. More on that in a moment.” He turned and looked at Reece. “To answer your question, Reece, I do have a few thoughts. While we must be aware of the enemy’s schemes, do not let your full concentration be on him. He is not the goal. He is not our focus. Do not give him more power than he has. Jesus is setting captives free, and those captives are stepping out of their chains. That is what we will celebrate and keep at the forefront of our minds. We will press deeper into the Lord daily. That is what will give us the strength and ability to advance with power as we step further into this war.”

  “So be it,” Dana said.

  Brandon pulled a bag of sunflower seeds out of his pocket. “Now about this exercise. This is part of us getting in shape to face the Wolf-man?”

  “Yes.” Reece sighed.

  “I don’t like the sigh, big guy.” Brandon popped a handful of seeds into his mouth. “Are you coming with us? Is this the ‘next time’ you talked about?”

  Reece shook his head and stayed silent.

  Doug gazed for a few seconds at each of them. “This will be far from easy. But it won’t last long. Seven minutes perhaps. Ten at the most.”

  “Any advance intel?” Brandon said.

  “No.” Doug shook his head. “I’m sorry.”

  “When will this excursion take place?”

  Doug took a deep breath and looked at Reece. “Right now.”

  Instantly Reece’s backyard vanished and the only thought in Dana’s mind was it was the first time they’d gone into any spiritual realm without holding hands. Apparently it wasn’t necessary. Might have been nice to know.

  A moment later Brandon, Marcus, and she stood in a small meadow bordered on one side by cliffs of granite. The ground was charred as if a fire had recently swept over the ground and burned the grasses.

  “I can see why Reece didn’t want to come,” Dana said.

  Brandon poked at the burned ground with the toe of his shoe. “No kidding.”

  A cry pierced the air behind her. Dana spun and gasped. It wouldn’t be fun dealing with what rushed toward them.

  EIGHTEEN

  THREE HAWKS OR FALCONS, DANA COULDN’T TELL, streaked down from the sky at them, screams pouring from their beaks. They were a hundred yards away, talons out. Even from this distance they looked razor sharp.

  “Move!” Brandon grabbed her arm and dragged her toward a thick row of alder trees fifteen yards to their right. Marcus followed and they reached the trees, turned sideways, and pushed through the narrow opening between the trunks. The falcons would get through easily. Dana spun to face them with . . . what? They had no weapons.

  But the birds raced by and banked hard to avoid the cliffs and flew off.

  Dana stared at Brandon. “What, that was just to scare us?”

  Brandon didn’t answer. She turned to see what he was focused on. The air shimmered in front of them as if heat were moving toward them in waves. Then came wind. Hot. Searing.

  The heat slammed into Dana and sent her to her knees. “Unhh!” She shut her eyes against the scorching current of air and tried to breathe steady. It was cooler near the ground, but the swirling air pushed particles of loose dirt into her mouth and nose. What kind of soul had Reece sent them into? And why?

  Dana coughed and opened her eyes. Brandon and Marcus knelt in front of her, both pulling in choking gasps of air as she was doing. “Are you all—?”

  “Look out!” Brandon leaped toward her, grabbed her, and rolled over three times with her in his arms. The ground shuddered and Dana turned her head. A massive slab of granite sat two inches from her nose.

  “Professor!” Brandon pushed off Dana and glanced behind him.

  “I’m good.” Marcus’s head swiveled back and forth as he studied the cliff above them. “And I’d like to stay that way. Any theories on how that state of being can be assured are heartily welcomed.”

  Brandon stood and lifted Dana to her feet. “We have to get out of here now!”

  Dana’s throat tightened as she drew in the burning air. “Agreed, but it’s going to be hard to stand and hold hands and get in a state of mind to get out of here when it’s raining bus-sized rocks and breathing is like being on Venus.”

  “Reece’s estimate was we’d be here seven minutes.” Marcus shouted to be heard over the increasing intensity of the wind. “We’ve only been in here two.”

  “And if we stay for three we’re going to die.”

  The sound of boulders cracking high above them split the air. She glanced up. The top of the granite wall shook. Dana clutched Brandon’s shoulder and jabbed her finger at a clump of trees at the base of the cliff. “We have to go there. Now!”

  As she staggered toward the rock wall, Marcus shouted, “It’s inadvisable to head toward the source of the stone that seconds ago nearly—”

  Dana kept running and shouted over her shoulder, “I don’t have time to debate this right now, Professor. Come on!”

  A dull splintering sound came from above, and two seconds later the ground trembled like a giant had jumped from the sky. She turned back to the spot they’d stood in five seconds earlier. A jagged boulder the size of a Volkswagen Beetle filled the space.

  Wham! Another boulder slammed into the ground to their right, then another landed and shook the ground to their left. They pushed through the trees to the base of the granite wall. Dana whipped her head back and forth, scanning the rock. “There!” She pointed to a thin, dark opening fifteen yards to their left. “Let’s go.”

  “We’re going in there?” Brandon said.

  “No choice.”

  “You might get through that opening but what about Marcus and me?”

  “You’ll make it,” Dana sputtered. “You have to.”

  The instant they sprinted for the opening, the ground shuddered with another rock that landed in the spot where they’d just been. Dana reached the dark slit in the rock first and flung herself to her belly.

  “You first, Professor.”

  “No, you, Dana.” He gave a weak smile. “No time to debate.”

  Brandon grabbed her shoulder. “Wait. How do we know this whole thing isn’t going to come down on us if we crawl in here?”

  “We don’t.” Dana turned her head sideways and put it flat on the ground. Maybe two inches to spare. She dragged herself forward with her elbows, inches at a time, the jagged rocks on the floor of the cave digging into her arms and torso and legs. Faster. She had to move faster, but it made her breathe deeper and breathing was almost impossible.

  The air outside was a winter’s day compared to the heat inside the cramped cave. Each breath felt like the air inside a sauna ten times hotter than she’d ever been in. But no boulders rained down inside the cave and a sense of peace told her what she’d felt the Spirit saying while they were outside: This cave was safe. That this was their eye of the tornado and their place to escape to. She needed it to be. They all needed it to be.

  Dana reached for the ceiling. The height of t
he tiny cave was three feet at most. It didn’t matter. She was alive. But where were Marcus and Brandon? She crouched and blinked against the light coming through the cave. Keep them safe.

  She spun and laid her face at the entrance, but the wind and dust made her clamp her eyes closed. “Come on, guys. Get in here!”

  No sound came back. No, this couldn’t happen. Your protection, Lord.

  “Brandon! Marcus!”

  Again there was no response. No, stay strong. He is our protector and shield. Dana’s chest tightened. Yes, she was safe. But it didn’t matter if Brandon and the professor weren’t. She couldn’t stay if they were in trouble. Dana had just started to crawl back out when a head filled the light streaming into the shallow cave.

  “You have to move aside, Dana!” Marcus moaned as he crawled in beside her.

  “What took you so long!”

  Marcus pulled himself farther in. “We had a slight disagreement as to who should enter the cave next.”

  “I would let out a disgusted, ‘Men!’ but it would be a waste of words and I don’t have the energy.”

  Moments later Brandon crawled through, accompanied by assorted angry grunts. “Okay, we’ve all made it to the party room. What do we do now? There’s obviously not enough room to dance.”

  It was an excellent question. There were no demons to overcome on this one. Their enemy inside this soul wasn’t an entity they could focus on. It was nature attacking them and how could they fight that? But it was still the enemy causing the boulders to fall and the heat to assault them and they could fight against that, right? But how? Then again, maybe they didn’t have to fight. Stay in here seven minutes? Forget it. It was time to go now.

  “It’s getting downright toasty in here,” Brandon puffed out.

  Dana sucked in a breath that felt like fire. “Which is making it harder to breathe in case you hadn’t noticed.”

  “If these conditions accelerate”—Marcus coughed like he was dying—“we’ll have no choice but to crawl back outside so we don’t suffocate.”

  “We’re not crawling anywhere. We’re going back.” Dana fumbled to find Brandon’s and Marcus’s hands. “Grab hold, let’s get literally the hell out of here.” She clamped down on the others’ palms and closed her eyes, then emptied her mind of everything around her and focused on the Spirit. “Take us.” But nothing happened.