End in the Beginning (The God Tools Book 3)

by Gary Williams

  The image the men were examining was the upside down cartouche of Queen Hatshepsut. This was the information which allowed them to conclude the Staff had been in the inverted pyramid.

  Curt blinked and found himself standing knee deep in water at the edge of a creek in the dark. Two men were standing on the floating docks just inside the entrance to Six Mile Creek. Again, it was Scott and his other self. The two men watched helplessly as the monstrous Serpent, complete with its red and green glowing eyes, smashed into the boat carrying Kay, Sherri, Cody, and Tina. Everyone was thrown into the water, with the exception of Sherri who fell to the floorboard of the boat.

  Curt cringed at the ghastly scene. This was the worst memory of all. Scott dove into the water and reached Cody. Curt jumped in to save Tina. The Serpent descended upon Scott and Cody, and swallowed them whole. Curt could see the macabre outline of Scott’s and Cody’s embrace as they slithered down the creature’s gullet. Then the Serpent flexed its massive jaw, exposing the fiery inside of scorching fluid as it bent its neck, turning and craning.

  Then everybody, including the Serpent, disappeared. Curt was still standing in the water, but realized he wasn’t wet. Daylight began to filter through the tree cover. He surveyed the still surface of the creek.

  There he saw her, face down and floating only a few feet away. Grimy and bloated, the body of a child.

  “Oh God, what did I do?” He placed his head in his hands.

  A stirring in the water caught his attention. The corpse jostled. Curt took a fearful step backward, sloshing water. The body moved again, this time rising up from the water and standing upright. It was a young girl about the same age as Tina. She even resembled Tina. She was clad in a dry, flowered dress.

  The little girl smiled as she walked toward Curt. He knew he should be terrified, but he wasn’t.

  She took him by the hand and led him to shore. When they reached firm ground, they were near the shack resting on stilts where the rowboat was still moored.

  He had come full circle. Curt blinked, trying to understand what was happening; what the visions were trying to tell him.

  “Your destiny is set,” the little girl said.

  Curt didn’t know how to respond. This was the first time a scene had not been a mere vision of past events. She was talking to him and seemed so real; felt so real.

  “I must lead you inside,” the little girl spoke with sincerity.

  She led Curt inland through a thicket of brush. Out of nowhere, a white cinderblock wall appeared before them. Curt could not see the top or the ends to the left or right. “Go through,” the little girl beckoned.

  “Go through?” Curt asked.

  She nodded and gestured confidently.

  Curt didn’t question her again. He walked directly toward the wall. When he reached it, he felt only the mildest resistance, as if he were passing through a spider’s web. He never slowed.

  His vision clouded. He emerged from the wall and stood at the base of a towering cliff face, which rose majestically above him. His eyes followed the façade upward. The cliff was punctuated with outcroppings. Suffused light provided pleasant warmth from above. Curt touched the wall. The face was rough, natural.

  Then, slowly, he focused on the terrain. He was standing in stark, white sand. A short distance away, thick, low grass spread out like a green carpet. The grass rolled up to a ridge that swept across the land as far as Curt could see in either direction. Farther away, beautiful green trees rose, dotting the landscape. The air was clean, scented by nature. Birds sang from their homes somewhere out of sight.

  A feeling of inner contentment washed over Curt. In an instant, he fell into the earth, and his vision went dark. He was now clamoring in water, clawing upward desperately. Curt burst through the surface and found himself in a wide stream of gently moving water. He wiped his eyes, swam to shore, and stood at the edge of the stream.

  He had entered Eden just as Father N had said he would: from water at a point about nine hours journey to the Tree of Life. There was a brilliant orange hue to the sky in the distance. Unlike the beautiful land before, this place was cold and barren with rocky terrain. Plateaus of slick red hills swelled to his right. Ahead, stark mountains dotted the landscape. To his left, the land formed a crest which banked down into a valley.

  His determination renewed, Curt focused on the goal, driving all fatigue away.

  The time had come to find Scott and Cody, face the COTE, and rescue Tina before it was too late.

  At the edge of the stream, two sets of footprints in the sand led away to his left toward the valley. One set of footprints was much larger than the other. He began to follow them.

  CHAPTER 38

  Footman and a handful of other members of the cult had been working up to a froth after losing contact with Nash. After seeing the report on the news that the Georgia Guidestones had been destroyed by an explosion, Footman realized he and the others had been duped. He wondered if this had been Nash’s plan all along, or whether that black-haired bitch had gotten to him.

  Footman paced around the campfire fuming mad. With the portal closed, there was no way to enter Eden. He would give anything to get his hands around Carr Nash’s neck and strangle the life out of the bastard.

  As he circled the flames, he realized he had special information. Tina Falco shared a secret when he had slipped into her tent.

  Maybe, just maybe, there was a way to get to Nash.

  ****

  Josette Laval drove into the night heading south on I-95. Fawn Cortez-Roberson, as Laval discovered from her driver’s license, lay still on the backseat, bound and gagged. Shortly after leaving the hospital, forcing Fawn against her will with the threat of a phantom gun, Laval had knocked the woman unconscious with a sharp hand chop to the back of the head.

  Laval’s anger over what Nash and Rassle had done to her had not abated. In fact, her thirst for vengeance had grown. Any chance she might have to reach Nash or Rassle had become her top priority after she overheard the tidbit about Coral Castle.

  Laval heard rustling coming from the back seat. She glanced in her rearview mirror and, with the scant moonlight filtering through the windows, saw Fawn was awake. She was wrestling with her restraints trying to get free.

  Laval returned her attention to the road. “It’s no use. You’re secured to the seatbelts, and I’ve tied knots that will only tighten if you struggle. You might as well sit back and enjoy the ride. But know this: you are going to help me enter Eden, or I will kill you.” Actually, I’m going to kill you no matter what you do, she thought. The mere notion of eventually taking this woman’s life caused an inward smile.

  A State Trooper passed by on the left. Laval took care to drive the appropriate speed so as not to draw undue attention. The cruiser pulled away and out of sight.

  ****

  Bar arrived at the home of Lilibeth Gains, Scott Marks’ cousin, at 9:08 p.m. She lived only a few blocks from the hospital where Tolen and Sherri Falco were being treated. A nearby street lamp cast limpid light on the outside of the brick, ranch-style home, but the inside appeared dark, and there was no car in the driveway.

  “Great,” Bar said, parking on the street. “Just my luck.”

  She killed the engine, walked to the front door, and rang the doorbell. No response. She rang a second and third time, but as she figured, no one was home. She returned to her car, logged into her tablet, searched for a cell phone number for Lilibeth, but could find no listing. She had no choice but to wait.

  Shortly after eleven o’clock, Bar’s patience ran out. The drive to Coral Castle was five hours. Even if she left now, she’d only have about two hours to find the image of the Tree in order to try and open the portal by 6:30 a.m.

  Bar left the car and went to the dark front door. Using a flashlight and a small file, she bent down and quickly picked the lock. Glancing around to ensure no one was looking, she quickly opened the door and darted inside. Finding a switch on the wall, she turned on a
strong overhead light.

  From the way Dr. Lohan had described Lilibeth Gains, Bar had expected to find a house decorated in wall-to-wall Ed Leedskalnin and Coral Castle motif. Yet the living room before her was reminiscent of a middle-class family from the 1980s, with a flame-stitch fabric couch, La-Z-Boy chair, wood coffee table, and an old box-style television on a wooden stand. Everything was clean and in its place. Other than being dated, the décor showed no sign of eccentricity.

  Bar continued into the dining room, then the kitchen. Again, nothing appeared to be unusual. She searched through the rest of the house, switching on lights as she went. She tried to locate something with a listing of Lilibeth’s cell phone number without luck.

  After checking the nightstand in the bedroom, Bar made her way to the end of the hall, where she found a closed door. Oddly, this door was locked. She quickly picked it and slowly pushed the door open. The light from the hallway revealed steps leading down to a basement—a highly unusual feature for the south, especially in Florida where the water table is high.

  The light switch at the top of the stairs was broken. Carefully, she took the steps down and found a second switch at the bottom, which she flipped on. A series of overhead fluorescent lights revealed a staggering sight. Instead of cold cinderblock walls, the gargantuan black & white face of Ed Leedskalnin was plastered on every wall. Glass display cases were arranged throughout the room and contained books and various other items. In one, there was a large chunk of coral. Another contained a book on a stand, and yet another held a series of framed black & white photographs. Bar strolled by them in fascination. The entire room was an elaborate museum display. Either that, or this was a sanctuary for a woman who most definitely worshipped in the church of Ed Leedskalnin.

  The back of the room housed a large stand on which stood a diorama of Coral Castle, meticulously created down to the very last detail, including Ed’s stone rocking chair, the Polaris telescope, and the nine-ton gate, all apparently built to scale. The model appeared so exact, so precise, Bar marveled at the creation.

  “This girl’s not just a fan, she’s Ed Leedskalnin’s ultimate groupie,” Bar commented to herself.

  The lights went out. Fear jolted her body. She started to reach inside her purse for her gun.

  “Why are you here?” an angry female voice shouted.

  Bar gulped, “Lilibeth Gains?”

  “Why are you here?”

  Bar could tell the voice was coming from the direction of the stairs. She pulled her empty hand from her purse. “Lilibeth, my name is Tiffany Bar. I’m with the CIA—”

  “CIA? You’re lying.”

  “No. No, I’m not. If you’d turn on the light, I’ll show you my ID.”

  “No chance, lady. I know who you are. You’re here to thwart my Edward-palooza. Well, I won’t be deterred.”

  Bar took a breath and hurriedly continued, “Lilibeth, your cousin, Scott Marks, is in trouble. He needs your help.”

  The room burst into light. “Scotty’s in trouble?”

  Bar’s eyes slowly adjusted back to the light. Standing before her, armed with a fire extinguisher, stood a tall, thin woman. She was wearing a peasant costume and black boots which appeared to be from the Middle Ages, but she wore no makeup or jewelry. Lilibeth’s defining feature was her hair. A center part separated long sweeping blonde hair to the left from stubby black hair to the right. Her unusual hair style was accentuated with jet black, pencil-thin eyebrows. She guessed the woman to be in her forties. “And his son, Cody, is also in trouble,” Bar added.

  Lilibeth’s eyes widened. “What’s going on?”

  “Curt Lohan told me you’re an expert on Coral Castle.”

  “Cute Curt?”

  “Yes, Cute Curt. I need you to go with me to Homestead.”

  “When?”

  “Right now,” Bar said, strolling past Lilibeth and up the stairs. “Time is running out.”

  “I need details,” Lilibeth said, placing the fire extinguisher on the ground and following her.

  “I’ll tell you on the way. We’ll have plenty of time. You’re probably not going to believe what I say anyway.”

  “You’d be surprised at what I believe, Agent Tiff,” Lilibeth said as she raced after Bar.

  Bar paused. “It involves the dagger of Cain and a portal to Eden.”

  Lilibeth’s eyes lit with intrigue. “I knew there was a good reason to leave the Renaissance festival early.”

  ****

  Laval followed I-95 south to where it ended on South Dixie Highway. Five miles beyond, she arrived at the corner of South Dixie Highway and SW 157th Avenue. To the right, Coral Castle was veiled in darkness. A dark, two-door sedan was parked on the roadside. Two figures were visible within.

  They must have seen her on a surveillance camera at the hospital and deduced where she was going. Getting into Coral Castle wasn’t going to be as easy as she hoped. She pulled around the corner and parked in the shadows where she could keep watch on the sedan. She needed to think this through.

  In the back seat, Fawn squirmed and made muted sounds.

  ****

  Bar and Lilibeth had just passed Palm Bay, halfway to Homestead, before Bar finished recounting everything that had transpired. Lilibeth had asked several insightful questions. Honesty appeared to be the correct course of action at this point, and despite the woman’s quirkiness, Bar was impressed with Lilibeth’s intelligence. On the other hand, she was surprised at how easily Lilibeth accepted the fantastic story.

  “So,” Lilibeth held up a thin finger, “what you’re telling me is that Cousin Scotty, Cody, Cute Curt, and another little girl are in Eden right now? And if this cult gets to the Tree of Life and destroys it, we’re all dead?”

  Bar nodded. “Afraid so. Weird, isn’t it?”

  “That’s a bit morbid, even for a CIA agent.”

  “Yet, it’s the truth.”

  “And this,” Lilibeth said holding up the dagger, “is the actual weapon Cain used to kill his brother, Abel?”

  “Yes.”

  “Un-be-credible. Okay, even though my head’s rattling, the obvious question now is, what does Coral Castle have to do with all this?”

  Bar glanced at Lilibeth as she drove. “Remember how I told you that structures throughout history have housed the portals that allow access into Eden? Well, I found a hidden message in one of Ed Leedskalnin’s published works. Up until the start of the millennium, Coral Castle was the site of the portal, and we believe that, with Cain’s dagger, it can be reopened to allow Scott, Curt, and the children out, hopefully after they stop the Cult of the End.”

  “Mind officially blown,” Lilibeth said, wiping her forehead. “Ed’s secret message mentioned the portal is inside Coral Castle?”

  “Yes, and this is where you come in. The opening is marked by the image of a Jewish tree. I suspect you know every square inch of that place. Have you ever seen a picture of a tree on one of the walls, or one of the carved coral objects inside?”

  “A Jewish tree? Wait, back up. Which of Ed’s writings did you find the coded message in?”

  “A Book in Every Home.”

  “Then we’re going to the wrong place.”

  “Wrong place?”

  “Ed published A Book in Every Home in 1936, the same year he moved Coral Castle, or as it was known at that time, Rock Garden, from Florida City to Homestead, ten miles away.”

  “What’s your point?” Bar asked.

  “Ed wrote the book in 1935 while Rock Garden was still in Florida City. So any cipher in A Book in Every Home wouldn’t refer to the current Coral Castle, but to where it was located when he wrote it. That would be in Florida City.”

  Bar was confused. “If the entire structure was moved, what does that matter? The image of the tree would be on one of the coral blocks now residing in Homestead.”

  “Except for one glaring fact,” Lilibeth said. “I’ve seen the image of a tree a few years ago, and it’s at the original location
in Florida City.”

  “How is that possible?”

  “Because Ed didn’t move everything. I’ll show you when we get there.”

  While it made sense for the two FBI agents staking out Coral Castle in Homestead to remain there in case Laval showed up with Fawn, she wanted to make sure they knew where she and Lilibeth were going in case they ran into trouble in Florida City. Bar pulled out her smartphone and called Link Johnsten to obtain the agents’ numbers. As she waited for him to answer, she said to Lilibeth, “Can you give me the exact location where Coral Castle was in Florida City?”

  “Are you kidding? I live for anything Leedskalnin-esque. I know the latitude and longitude by heart.”

  CHAPTER 39

  Lila Falls struggled to keep her composure. While her recollections of the events leading to her waking in the swamp had returned, none of them made any sense. A creature had devoured her, and she was sent into the past. No matter how hard she tried, she could not rationalize what she had experienced—was experiencing. She once again questioned her sanity.

  She realized that her focus needed to shift to survival. Fortunately, the feral growl she had heard earlier had not recurred. Based on the similarity of the nearby land formation to its present-day features—with the exception of the rise on Bayard Point, which was much lower than it should be—she deduced she was somewhere in a time between the age of the dinosaurs and the dawn of man. At least this meant there was no threat from terrifying large carnivorous creatures such as Tyrannosaurus Rex.

  She again considered the bizarre spider and snake she had encountered. While the snake was unknown to her, the spider’s protective armor, in the form of scales, did ring a bell. She recalled a similar species that dated to the Pleistocene era.

  Attempting to reset her world, she closed her eyes for a long moment before reopening them.