End in the Beginning (The God Tools Book 3)

by Gary Williams

  Lyle and Frank opened the back doors, loaded the gurney, jumped in, and drew the doors closed with a bang of metal. Footman threw the van into drive and smashed the accelerator. The tires barked, and the van lurched. He expertly navigated out of the circle and cut through the main parking lot, sending several pedestrians diving out of the way.

  In his peripheral vision, Footman spotted the man in the suit whom he had shot on the fourth floor. The man raised his gun and fired before Footman could react. There was a loud pop, and the van began wobbling uncontrollably. It veered off and slammed into a parked car. The airbag deployed. Footman was unharmed, but it took great effort to get the door open. He pulled the gun out of his pants and took one step out of the vehicle before he felt a blow to the side of his face as if he had been hit by a twenty-pound rock.

  ****

  “That’s for trying to kidnap the lady. Oh, and for shooting me in the arm,” Johnsten said, shaking his right hand, trying to ring out the pain in his fingers. A good punch always had its catch.

  The man lay on the ground motionless. The passenger was unconscious, a cut over his eye leaking blood.

  Awkwardly, Johnsten stooped to the ground in search of the shooter’s weapon. The man had been holding it when he exited the van. Johnsten found the pistol under the van.

  The back doors of the van burst open and two men attempted to flee.

  “I wouldn’t do that, mate,” Johnsten said, leveling the pistol at them. The two men stopped in their tracks.

  “Hands on the side of the van, feet spread. If you have any weapons, drop them to the ground.”

  They complied, each tossing a knife on the ground.

  Johnsten walked to the back of the van keeping an eye on the two men as blood dripped from his left arm to the ground. Sherri lay on the gurney. Her breathing was shallow. “You two blokes are going to help me get this lady back inside the hospital.”

  The blaring of emergency vehicle sirens in the distance drew Johnsten’s attention to the busy four-lane street in front of the hospital. Cars and other vehicles were stopped in the middle of the road, many mangled and several had flipped over as the result of accidents. People were moving frantically about, talking loudly. An unseen woman cried out in agony, a man carried an injured child toward the hospital. The number and volume of sirens ballooned. Johnsten heard an explosion, then a second one. He spun to see a billowing mound of black smoke rising to the north as if a large industrial building had erupted. To the west, another voluminous swell of smoke spread across the horizon. As seconds passed, more people gathered in the street chattering wildly. The collective masses appeared on the fringe of bedlam.

  Whatever had happened when Johnsten blacked out from the unknown pain had not been an isolated incident to the hospital. It appeared to have struck everywhere.

  CHAPTER 53

  The debilitating pain that had caused Laval to fall to the ground and nearly topple over the edge into the hole stopped as quickly as it had started. She rose, completely baffled by what had just happened. As her senses returned, she realized her weapon was gone. Nearby, the electric lantern had fallen on its side, muting the light. When she reached for it, flashes of light sparked from the dark hole and gunfire erupted. A searing pain ripped through her right thigh, and she dropped backward onto the floor. Bullets continued to fly up from the shaft, striking the ceiling, sending rock fragments raining down upon her.

  ****

  Curt’s elation was short-lived as he remembered Scott. “Cody, where is your dad? Is he okay?”

  “I left him in the cave. A heavy rock was on his chest.”

  Hurriedly, with Curt leading the way through the shadows, the three stepped down from the island into the stream. Curt carried the Sword of Michael, and Cody held the Staff.

  Curt spoke, “All three Tools are required to leave this place and return home. We need the Fish.”

  “Okay,” Tina said. The Fish was nowhere in sight until she tapped her fingers on the water’s surface. The creature swam up, no more threatening than a carp. Tina gripped the small Fish and lifted it out of the water. Once dry, the Fish morphed into its skeletal form.

  Trotting toward the caved-in tunnel, Curt saw a man slide, then roll down the rock pile. It was Scott. When they reached him, he was bruised, battered, and barely alive.

  “Daddy!” Cody exclaimed with alarm, sounding much more like Scott Mark’s little boy than the seed in the Garden of Eden.

  Scott lay on his back, his eyes fluttering as he fought to keep them open. Curt lifted Scott’s head into his lap. His friend seemed to focus on him with a confused expression. He swallowed, as if gathering energy, and said weakly, “Why…why didn’t it…” his words trailed off, and he closed his eyes.

  “Daddy!” Cody shouted again.

  “Cody, Tina, before, when the Fish had been in a body of water, that water had healing powers,” Curt said, thinking back to the Blue Council and the water they had held in their underground pool. “Can the stream help him?”

  Cody was crying, but he and Tina both nodded in affirmation.

  Curt grabbed Scott by the shoulders and valiantly dragged him between the flowering bushes, until he reached the stream’s edge. Scott was barely breathing. “What do I do?” he asked the children in a panic.

  Tina spoke. “Push him in.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes,” the children responded in unison.

  This didn’t feel right. Scott would drown. Yet everything the children had told him so far was accurate. The inner conflict passed, and Curt rolled Scott into the clear stream.

  Scott sunk to the bottom. Air bubbles rose to the surface. Scott’s body began to twitch and convulse.

  He was drowning.

  Curt knelt down at the water’s edge and reached for his friend.

  “No,” Cody ordered, trying to wipe his face dry, “let him be.”

  Curt froze. He had to fight every instinct within him to not intervene and pull Scott from the water.

  ****

  Lilibeth awoke on the ground staring up at a flat ceiling. The light was dim. As the fog in her mind lifted, she remembered the ungodly pain which had caused her to collapse. To her side, the lantern was still on.

  Her first thought was that she had suffered a stroke. No, she recalled what Agent Bar had told her about the cult in Eden. Were they about to obliterate her and the rest of the mortals from the face of the Earth?

  She sat up. A wave of nausea struck. Lilibeth reached a hand to the back of her throbbing head. A small lump had formed near the base of her skull.

  She fought to clear her vision.

  A series of blasts coming from somewhere in the underground tunnels echoed within the square room. Lilibeth jumped. Shaking, she checked her watch: 6:19 a.m. Although concerned for Agent Bar, she knew she had to wait eleven more minutes to open the portal. Bar was counting on her.

  Since they were the only ones down here, she reasoned that Bar fired her weapon as a signal to Lilibeth that she was okay. Lilibeth staggered to her feet. Her world continued to spin, but she slowly made her way into the corridor. She was going to attempt the incline but feared she might pass out. From there, she shouted to Bar instead.

  She listened intently, but there was no response. Lilibeth trudged back into the square room.

  ****

  Laval dragged herself away from the hole and propped herself against a wall. Her leg was bleeding from the gunshot wound.

  Dammit! Her weapon had fallen down the shaft, and one of those two bitches had used it to shoot her.

  She had once endured two gunshot wounds in a shootout with Jihadist Islamic terrorists in Albania and still managed to snap a man’s neck in hand-to-hand combat. A bullet in her leg was not about to slow her down.

  A woman’s voice called out in the distance. “I don’t know if you can hear me, Agent Bar, but if you need me to come to you, fire your gun again! Otherwise, I’m waiting in the room to open the portal!”

&n
bsp; Whoever this other female was, she knew where the portal was located, and had whatever was necessary to open it.

  Perfect.

  Laval grimaced as she stood, careful to make sure she was not in view of the shooter in the pit. She shuffled painfully from the room, moved awkwardly back up the corridor and to the center room where they had entered. There were three more tunnels. The woman could be in any of them. She would have to check each tunnel until she found her.

  Laval started with the tunnel located behind the statue of the full moon.

  ****

  Under the surface, Scott’s body went still. Curt looked at Cody then Tina. Both children remain fixated on Scott. The man stirred. He thrust his head above water, gasping for air. When his breathing returned to normal, he slowly pushed himself up. Relieved, Curt helped him out of the water.

  “Are you okay?” Curt asked.

  “Yes, I am now. Is this…?” Scott pointed back at the waterway.

  “The original Fountain of Youth?” Curt said, “I think so.”

  Cody came over and hugged his wet father. Holding his son, Scott eyed Curt.

  Curt could tell Scott had questions he wasn’t ready to answer. “Cody, how long have we been here?”

  “Fifty-five hours and fifty-one minutes.”

  “While I’m sure we’d all love to explore this place, we have nine minutes to make it back to Abel’s grave. Let’s hope Bar has been successful.”

  CHAPTER 54

  “Jesus Christ,” Fawn whispered loudly, clutching her ears. They were still ringing from the blasts. Scant light was coming from Laval’s lantern above.

  “I think I hit her,” Bar also spoke in a whisper.

  “I still hear movement above. She’s not dead.”

  A faint voice could be heard in the distance.

  “That’s Lilibeth,” Bar said. “She came with me. She’s waiting to open the portal in another tunnel. I can’t fire a shot. I’m out of bullets. Besides, drawing her to us is too risky. I just hope Laval is too injured to reach her.”

  Fawn saw the light from above fade away. “Laval’s on the move. We’ve got to warn your friend.”

  “No,” Bar whispered hoarsely. “If we call to Lilibeth and she responds, Laval can pinpoint her location. With three other tunnels, Laval may not find her right away. It might give her the time she needs.”

  The last of the light faded, leaving them in absolute darkness.

  “How will Lilibeth open the portal?” Fawn asked.

  “She has Cain’s dagger. We found the image of the Tree down the corridor behind the first quarter moon.” She took a deep breath.

  Fawn could tell Bar was in pain and having difficulty speaking.

  Bar continued, “The image must be stabbed precisely at 6:30 a.m. We have less than eight minutes. After the portal is opened, those on the other side must pass the three Tools back through, and a burst of energy will be released.” Again Bar paused, her voice growing weaker. “I’ve…warned Lilibeth. Now we have to hope Laval…doesn’t get…to her.”

  Fawn understood about the portal, but some of what Bar said was confusing. “What do you mean, ‘burst of energy’?”

  There was no response.

  “Agent Bar?” Fawn shook the woman. She was breathing but unconscious.

  Fawn felt for Bar’s hand in the darkness and found the pistol beside it. She knew the gun was empty, but she wanted it anyway. By touch alone, Fawn rose on the ledge and tucked the gun in her pants. Her lungs filled with stale air, and she began surveying the wall by touch. There were several outcroppings of rock she could use as handholds. Reaching higher, she found several more. With luck, she would locate even more as she went. She began the strenuous climb.

  Her muscles shook. The ascent in the dark was perilous and exhausting. She inched her way up, having to pause frequently to rest. When she finally reached the lip, she called on every ounce of energy she could muster and drew herself over the edge and onto the top. Nearly exhausted, she rolled onto the floor breathing heavily. She remained in complete darkness.

  There was no time to waste. The climb out of the pit had taken her longer than she’d hoped. Lilibeth would be attempting to open the portal very soon. She had to stop Laval from intervening. Tired, discouraged, and perspiring, Fawn reached into her pocket and retrieved the book of matches from Andrew’s Capital Grill & Bar. She thought about Mike, about their first date. She prayed the matches still worked.

  I could use a little help, Mike.

  By touch alone, she tore a match out and struck it. Elation filled her body at the resulting spark and flame. Even though she was taking a chance Laval would see the light, she had no choice. She backtracked through the tunnel, moving cautiously, listening for any sound of movement. Firelight skipped across the walls and floor as she crept excruciatingly slowly. Every twenty seconds, she was forced to stop to light a new match. When she arrived at the center room, she found the first quarter moon statue and eased down the corridor behind it. Every step brought dread that Laval might be lurking nearby, yet she pressed on, anxious to reach Lilibeth.

  Fawn was surprised when the floor angled downward, and she carefully followed its path. At a switchback, she turned and descended in the opposite direction.

  With every step through the darkness, Fawn feared a blind attack. Laval was a callous killer, and while Fawn wanted revenge for Mike’s murder, she knew she would not survive a fight with the French assassin.

  Ahead, Fawn saw a doorway with light coming through. She prayed that Laval had not gotten to Lilibeth. Fawn quietly extinguished the most recently lit match and slid ahead, moving quickly through the dark corridor. She listened intently as she approached but heard nothing. She pressed herself against the outside wall of the doorway, craned her head around and ventured a peek inside. A woman in strange clothes with stranger hair was pacing back and forth, holding a knife in her hand.

  “Lilibeth?” Fawn queried as she entered the room.

  Lilibeth jumped but didn’t make a noise. Instead, she held the dagger up as defense.

  “Lilibeth, Agent Bar told me about you. I’m Fawn Cortez-Roberson. She may have mentioned me to you. I was abducted by the French woman, Josette Laval. She’s down here somewhere. Did you hear the gunshots?”

  She nodded but retained a look of suspicion.

  “Laval tossed me in the hole with Bar then tried to kill us both. She missed. Then the pain struck.”

  Lilibeth’s eyes widened. “I felt it, too. It was unbearable.”

  “Since it stopped, I hope that means Curt, Scott, and the two children are about to come back from Eden. We’ve got to make sure they do. Bar said you found the image of the tree?”

  Lilibeth nodded, more vigorously this time.

  Fawn eyed her watch. “We’ve got a minute and a half.”

  In a whisper, Lilibeth used the time to explain the Kabbalah Tree. When she’d finished, Lilibeth took the tip of Cain’s dagger and held it before the image.

  Fawn checked her watch and nodded. “It’s time.”

  “Here goes,” Lilibeth said, pressing the tip into the wall at the center of the design.

  Nothing happened.

  She tried again, stabbing it with force. The tip penetrated the stone and stuck. Still, nothing happened.

  “Um…okay?” Lilibeth began. “Obviously, stabbing the center was a wrong guess. One of the circles has to be the correct location.” Quickly, she stabbed all ten circles, but it had no effect.

  “It’s not working,” Fawn said anxiously.

  “C’mon, Lilibeth,” she spoke to herself, “you can figure this out. Think. Remember what Zeke Arbuckle said.”

  “Yes,” Fawn said nearly consumed with panic, “whoever the hell Zeke Arbuckle is, remember what he said.”

  Fawn watched nervously as Lilibeth closed her eyes. When she opened them, she pointed to the circles of the tree. “Okay, there’s Keter…Chochmah…Binah…um…” She faltered, “um…Chesed…um…” As she sp
oke, she identified each Sephirah with a specific circle. She reached the tenth one and an expression of revelation lit her eyes. “Wait, wait! There’s an eleventh Sephirah: Da’at. That’s it! Da’at is the location where all ten Sephiroth unite as one!” She traced her finger over the image to the intersection of the lines connecting the top five circles. Lilibeth raised the dagger to the spot.

  A noise behind them drew Fawn’s attention away.

  Laval stood in the doorway pressing a hand to her blood-soaked thigh. Her long, dark hair was disheveled; her murderous gaze fixed on Fawn.

  ****

  Curt, Scott, Cody, and Tina walked briskly, backtracking through the tunnels, moving by the dim light of the naturally luminescent walls. Soon, they broke into a trot. Curt scooped up Tina, who was struggling to keep up.

  “I have some questions. Some things don’t add up,” Scott said as they hurried along.

  “Scott, we don’t have time right now,” Curt said, “we’ve got three minutes to reach the grave.”

  They reached the room in the cave at exactly 6:30. Panting heavily, the foursome headed to the center of the room. They placed the three Tools on the ground.

  “What now?” Scott asked.

  “We have to hope Bar gets the portal opened.”

  When several minutes came and went, Curt’s hope plummeted.

  ****

  “Lilibeth, stab it now!” Fawn shouted as she charged Laval.

  Roused to action, Lilibeth took aim at Da’at and plunged the dagger into the wall.

  Fawn lowered her shoulder and caught Laval in the mid-section. Both women tumbled to the ground. Rolling over beside Laval, Fawn found herself facing Lilibeth and the wall with the image. A square section of the wall, about five feet wide and five feet across, had transformed into blue smoke. The smoke sunk in and puffed out, as if it were being inhaled then exhaled by an unseen force.