“That’s lame, dude,” Tack said. “You can’t wait for something to just hit you. In your pocket is a book that can give you the answer, and you don’t want to read it?”
“He’s right.” Clover looked curiously at Vero.
“It’s something Raziel said . . .”
“Who is that?” Tack asked.
“He’s an archangel,” Kane answered.
“Raziel said when you possess that much knowledge, you feel like you know as much as God.”
“But you don’t,” Clover said.
“Right, but Raziel said it’s a dangerous feeling. Wanting that kind of knowledge is what led to Adam and Eve’s fall.”
“So you’re afraid the book will corrupt you?”
Vero slowly nodded.
“You have to use the book to find the garden,” Clover said. “You don’t have much more time. We’ll be with you and make sure it goes right back into your pocket.”
Vero looked to Clover, considering. Kane stood, his eyes glued to Vero’s pocket, awaiting his decision. After a moment, Vero nodded.
“But I’ll also need you guys to be on the lookout,” Vero said. “I’m afraid the second I pull it out of my pocket, maltures or whatever are going to attack.”
“We’ve got your back,” Kane said.
Vero pulled the blue sapphire from his pant pocket, nervously glancing around. The stone captured Kane’s complete attention. He appeared mesmerized by its sparkling allure.
“Stand around me,” Vero instructed as he crouched down on one knee in the cluster of trees. “And keep an eye out.”
Clover and Tack crowded around Vero. Tack looked at Kane, who appeared to be in a trance. Tack elbowed him. Kane’s head jerked up, his face startled.
“Vero needs us to keep guard,” Tack sternly told Kane.
Vero stared into the stone. His index finger swiped the stone’s surface several times as if he was swiping some sort of electronic screen. Before his eyes, tiny flames formed into archaic symbols. Vero was surprised that he could read the symbols, but none so far mentioned the garden. His finger swiped across the blue gem a few more times, then he stopped. Something had caught his attention. The tiny flames rose and fell. They formed a symbol that Vero read as ‘garden.’ Then the flames twisted into a figure—a triangle. Vero could clearly see the shape with three equal sides, and then in the center of the triangle, more flames transformed into a pair of fluttering wings.
Vero stared intently into the stone. He swiped his index finger across its surface once more, but the “pages” did not turn. The triangle image remained. What did it mean? Vero thought hard. There were the three waterfalls in the Ether that formed a perfect triangle. Was that the portal to the garden? But he was told he would have to enter from earth . . .
As Vero silently deliberated, the flames began to fade. And after a few seconds, they disappeared completely. Vero stood. Clover closed Vero’s hand around the stone.
“Put it back in your pocket,” she said forcefully.
Vero nodded and pushed the stone deep into his pocket.
“Well?” Kane anxiously asked. “Did it tell you?”
Vero shrugged. “It’s trying to tell me something, but I don’t understand.”
“What?” Clover asked.
“It showed me a triangle with wings in the center.”
“The waterfalls in the Ether!” Kane blurted excitedly.
“I thought that too, but no,” Vero answered dejectedly. “I have to enter from earth.”
“I might know,” Clover said.
Vero watched curiously as Clover walked toward the edge of the mountain. He followed her.
“Where are you going?” Tack shouted after them.
Neither answered. They continued walking. Tack and Kane chased after them. Clover stood on the edge, where together she and Vero took in the vista of lofty hills, rolling green plains, meandering rivers, and, in the far distance, the sparkle of the Indian Ocean. As the morning sun illuminated the panoramic view of the landscape, Clover pointed to the sky in front of her.
“There’s your portal.” She smiled. “It was in my drawing the whole time.”
Then Vero saw it, and an astonished smile graced his face.
In the distant sky, a shadow was cast from the mountain of Sri Pada. It was a perfect triangle! Surrounded in mist, the shadow appeared to stand upright. Awe-inspired looks came over everyone.
“How do you access it?” Kane wondered aloud.
“There were wings in the middle of the triangle,” Vero said. “You fly into it.”
“Then I guess Clover and I definitely can’t go with you,” Tack said with sadness.
“Now you really need to get back on the path,” Vero said.
Clover looked to the sky, and Vero’s eyes followed. As the sun climbed higher, the shadow began to retreat swiftly toward the base of the mountain.
“You better go or you’ll miss it,” Clover said urgently. “It looks like it might disappear quickly.”
Vero looked down from the sky, and his gaze landed over Tack’s shoulder. His eyes shot wide.
“The dog thing is back!” Vero shouted. “Run to the stair path!”
Clover momentarily locked eyes with Vero. Vero knew she was worried for him and didn’t want to leave him.
“Pray for me,” Vero said. “It’s more powerful than you think.”
“I promise,” Clover said.
Vero gave one last look to his sister and his best friend. Through the tree branches, he saw several of the demonic dogs.
“Go!” Vero shouted.
Tack and Clover ran in the direction of the steps. Vero turned and saw a pack of the creatures running up the side of the mountain toward him. The dog beasts were coming at Kane and him from two directions, preventing Vero from reaching the edge of the mountain and the triangular shadow. Kane took off running into the forest, as did Vero, chasing the shadow. He looked up, surprised by how fast the shadow was moving across the vista. He had to hurry while the beasts pursed him at the same time.
“Vero! Help!” Kane yelled.
Vero stopped a few feet short of reaching the edge of the forest, and the shadow beyond. He looked back and saw Kane lying on the ground, holding his ankle in pain.
“I can’t move!” Kane shouted.
Vero quickly ran back to Kane. He bent down and lifted Kane’s arm over his shoulder and raised him to his feet.
“Lean on me!” Vero yelled, looking back at the pack of dog creatures snarling and drooling.
Kane limped along with Vero supporting him, toward the shadow. With a supernatural strength, a demon dog leapt more than twenty feet through the air and landed on Vero’s leg, grasping his pants. Vero let go of Kane, who fell to the ground then scooted back away. Vero fought the dog, but it sunk its teeth into his calf. Vero screamed in agony as blood ran down his leg.
“Kane, help!” Vero screamed, looking to him. “Kane, please . . .”
Kane stood perfectly straight. Vero saw that Kane’s ankle was not injured. Vero’s heart sunk as his worst fears were confirmed, and he realized that Kane had never intended to help him . . . Kane had set him up. The betrayal was more painful than the bite to his leg.
The rest of the pack soon joined in the attack. They backed Vero up to the edge of the mountaintop, and then the dogs instantly grew docile and sat. Vero looked over the pack of dogs as Adrik walked toward him. Vero saw red flecks in her eyes, and he knew exactly who she truly was.
“It’s over,” Adrik said to Vero.
Vero shook his head. “No, Lilith!”
“Give me the book or I’ll have the dogs finish you, and then I’ll take it anyway.”
Vero looked to Kane, his eyes pleading one last time for help. Kane lowered his gaze. Adrik held out her hand. As she stepped toward Vero, he backed up dangerously close to the edge of the cliff, his leg leaving a trail of blood on the ground.
“We’re done here,” Adrik said, turning to the pack. “Kill
!”
The demon dogs leapt to their feet. Vero’s eyes darted around, desperately searching for a way out. There was none.
Except . . .
“Please, God,” Vero said. “I can’t do this by myself. Don’t let me be alone on the other side.”
As the doglike beasts sprung off their hind legs at Vero, he stepped back, spread his arms wide, and fell into the air. Adrik’s eyes narrowed in fury. Kane looked on in disbelief.
At that same moment, Clover stood on the edge of the steps, looking out over the vista. She gasped when she saw Vero freefalling over the side of the mountain. But then his body caught the mountain’s shadow. Wings shot out from Vero’s back, stopping his fall. Clover knew Vero was an angel, but seeing him flying in midair took her breath away. Her eyes widened as his majestic wings took him higher toward the peak of the triangle shadow. Vero flew into the peak of the triangle, and disappeared.
“Go, Vero.” Clover smiled.
As Clover continued to look, she saw four other young angels suddenly materialize in the triangular shadow. One was a slight boy with big ears, another a teenage girl with curly, auburn hair, the third a handsome teen boy with light brown skin, and finally a tall, athletic girl with short brown hair highlighted with blonde streaks. They flew in the same direction that Vero had, and they, too, disappeared into the peak.
A moment later, Clover’s smile quickly dropped when she saw Adrik holding on to Kane, and then watched them leap off the cliff together. When they were in the shadow, their true forms were also revealed. Kane sprouted angel wings, but Adrik turned into a vile, hideous hag.
Clover gasped as she watched them also disappear into the peak of the pyramid shadow. She knew her brother and his fledgling friends were in grave danger.
In the most barren of deserts, the ground began to rumble. Red hotspots flashed just beneath the surface. The rocky, sandy soil bubbled as if tar were coming to the surface. Then the ground burst open—thousands of maltures broke through as if they had been festering in a large boil and were finally cut free. The vile creatures rocketed up to the surface, climbing over one another like a den of snakes released from their long hibernation.
As Clover kept watch over the quickly moving shadow, a tunnel of what looked like dark smoke appeared, swirling and racing toward the shadow’s peak. Clover stumbled back when her eyes made out the true nature of the smoke—thousands and thousands of hideous red-eyed creatures with jagged black wings. It was a horrifying sight. The creatures disappeared into the peak when what looked like a tunnel of bright, white light spun, then grew bigger and bigger as it headed toward the peak. The lights began to take form, and Clover saw they were angels—legions of angels—flying at supernatural speeds. And when they vanished into the peak, Clover knew an epic battle had begun.
25
DEMON DOGS
Clouds and mist surrounded Vero, though he felt his feet were on solid ground. He ran his hand over his pant pocket, making sure the book was still safely there, and sighed in relief when it was. He lifted his pant leg. The bite was still there, but the blood loss had slowed a bit. As Vero looked around, he heard familiar voices in the distance and followed them. Then, through the thick, cloudy air, Vero made out a face.
“Thank you, God, for not letting me be alone,” Vero said as he tapped her shoulder, startling her. Greer spun around with a surprised look.
“You little jerk!” she yelled. “Don’t ever do that again! I almost had a heart attack!”
Vero grabbed Greer and pulled her into a hug. An even more surprised look came over her face.
“Ew! Get off, you loser!” she shouted, pushing him away.
“I’m just so glad you’re here.”
“Do that again, and I will leave,” Greer said.
“That’s what’s so great about you. I know who you are. You’re always brutally honest,” Vero said wistfully, thinking of Kane.
“Is there something wrong with you?” Greer said, looking at him as if she was staring at an alien.
Before he could answer, Vero saw Ada, X, and Pax standing before him. He ran to them and pulled all three into a group hug. X looked at Greer over Vero’s shoulder, his eyebrows raised.
“He’s off,” Greer said to X.
Vero let go of the three.
“I wish Kane would hurry up and get here,” Greer said to Vero. “Then he can get his hug and we can get this lovefest over with and do whatever it is we’re supposed to be doing!”
“Kane . . . won’t be coming,” Vero said with great sadness.
“Why? What’s wrong?” Pax asked.
Vero shook his head. “Kane’s no longer one of us.”
“What do you mean?” X asked, panicked.
All eyes were locked on Vero; their postures were tense, their breathing quick.
“He fights for Lucifer now.”
Shocked looks came over the others. Tears formed in Pax’s eyes. X doubled over, as if punched in the gut.
“No,” X said. “You’re wrong. I know Kane. He wouldn’t.”
“I thought I knew him too,” Vero said. “He tried to take the book from me.”
Ada gasped. “You have the Book of Raziel?”
Vero nodded, touching his pocket.
“Really?” Greer asked, duly impressed.
“Yeah.”
“But how were you even with Kane?” X asked, still trying to make sense of it all.
“The book was in Sri Lanka. I went there with my family . . .” Vero started.
“And Kane’s from Sri Lanka,” X said, putting it together.
“We ran into one another there,” Vero said. “But it was no coincidence.”
“Probably not,” Pax said.
“And his aunt Adrik—at least she was pretending to be his aunt—was our tour guide,” Vero said. “All along, she was Lilith.”
X’s head sunk down to his chest, as if the weight of the news was too heavy.
“Maybe she fooled him,” Ada said, a look of hope on her face. “Maybe he didn’t know who she was?”
“No, I begged him to help me,” Vero said, anger rising. “There were these demon dogs attacking me . . . Look what they did.”
Vero lifted his pant leg, revealing the gruesome bite. Ada winced.
“I went back to help him, but he set me up. He stood beside Lilith and watched them try to kill me!” Vero shouted.
“Then he’s made his choice!” Greer responded, now furious. “We fight against him!”
“He was just so bitter after the Angel Trials,” X explained.
“It was only a contest!” Greer yelled at X. “We all have reasons to be bitter. On earth, you can’t walk. Pax bangs his head against a wall all day! I never had a family. All of us could be bitter for the fact that we have to live our lives knowing we’ll never make it to adulthood!”
The fledglings exchanged looks with one another.
“But none of us ran off to make a pact with Lucifer,” Greer said, a little more calmly.
“She’s right,” Pax said.
“So I don’t want to hear anyone feeling sorry for Kane,” Greer said.
Ada nervously twirled her finger through her hair. She nodded in agreement. X looked to Greer, then his eyes rested on Vero.
“We’re here to help Vero,” X said. “Let’s do it.”
“Start by wrapping that bite,” Ada said, pulling her winter scarf from around her neck.
Vero lifted his pant leg. Ada bent down and tied the scarf around Vero’s calf.
“That feel better?”
“Yeah, thanks,” Vero said. “I hoped that it would have healed when I transitioned, but no luck.”
Ada stood. “That’s the best I can do.”
“You really have the book?” Pax asked, with a sense of wonder.
“Yes, Rahab was right. It was a gem . . . a blue sapphire,” Vero said.
“I want to see it,” Pax said.
Vero reached into his pocket. X put his hand over Vero’s f
orearm, stopping him.
“Don’t,” X sternly said. “We don’t know who or what could be around.”
“Yeah, sorry, Pax,” Vero said. “He’s right. It probably would just look like a blue sapphire to you. Kane tried to read it, but saw nothing.”
Pax nodded, understanding.
“We need to get you into the garden of Eden, right?” X asked Vero.
“Yes, and I thought this was it,” Vero said, eyes looking around in the heavy clouds. “But I don’t know where this is. Do you?”
“No clue,” Greer said. “I was hanging out in my bedroom doing homework when I got called back. But instead of coming to the Ether the regular way, I transitioned mid-flight, and passed through some shadow.”
“Same for me.” Pax shrugged. “It looked like a triangle.”
Ada and X nodded in agreement.
“You sure you entered correctly from earth?” X asked.
“Yeah, I mean, it all made sense,” Vero said. “This has got to be it. We all came the same way.” Vero sighed, frustrated.
“Anybody else hear that?” Pax asked.
“Hear what?” Vero asked.
“Faint sound of running water, like a babbling brook,” Pax said.
“No,” X said.
“Hey, if the kid says he hears it, I believe him,” Greer said. “Those giant ears gotta be good for something.”
Pax gave her a look.
“If you hear it, lead us.” Vero nodded to Pax.
Pax walked ahead through the mist as the others followed him. The sound of the brook grew louder the farther they walked, but mist was still thick, making it impossible to see too far ahead. Vero could feel the ground underneath his feet become softer, as if he were walking on grass. The soft cushioning gave his injured leg some comfort. The dense fog gradually began to lift.
“I see something up ahead,” Pax said, squinting through his fogged-up glasses.
They walked a few more feet, and there, before their eyes, was a magnificent ornate gate made entirely from gold. Light bounced off the rails as if the rays were dancing. The gates were attached to two massive pillars and walls made of rails completely covered in ivy. Vero could see through the golden gates. On the other side was lush vegetation—green as far as Vero’s eyes could see. Trees, grass, and shrubs decorated the garden. Flowers of varying vivid, pastel colors grew in beds, straight and perfect. X tugged on the gate. It would not open.
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