“So, naturally, they thought of me.” Nick couldn’t help but grin.
“I guess so. I’ll send the details to your phone. And I’ll get back to you when I have more on this Cain guy. You’ll be at the Andrews place?”
“Yep, I’ll be there...”
Nick heard the call end and slipped his phone back into his pocket. He had been light and glib with Amy, in the hopes that she wouldn’t pick up on the rising sense of foreboding that he felt. No bodies left but the children. That sounded frighteningly familiar. He quickened his pace.
Chapter 38
“Beginning the Long Walk”
Pol pulled the battered old pickup to a stop on the northbound shoulder of the narrow mountain road. The near-bald tires crackled on the gravel and the out-of-tune engine sputtered and threatened to die. If it happened again, Pol had no idea how they’d get it fired up this time. They were out of spare fuel and had nursed the fouled carburetor along the last couple hundred miles the best they could. Starting it again would take nothing short of a miracle.
Brenden looked over at the billboard in an adjoining field. It was decorated with a collage of a bull rider, demolition derby cars, children eating ice cream cones and a woman that he presumed to be a local celebrity singing into a microphone. Along top of the images read, “Pinebow County Centennial, Shadow Valley Fairgrounds,” followed by a string of dates that Brenden couldn’t quite make out.
Pol leaned over to get a better look at the advertisement, then straightened and picked up the newspaper folded on the seat between them. He compared the date on the paper with those on the billboard. He slapped it back down on the seat and said, “No wonder we’ve seen so much traffic since sun-up. Some sort of area celebration starts today.”
As if on cue, the truck coughed, sputtered and then clunked into silence.
Both men sat in silence and stared at the dash, as if they could see through it to the engine.
“Well, now what?” Brenden finally asked.
Pol thought over the question, then took the SoulStar out of his jacket pocket. The four-pronged relic felt warm to the touch, rather than cold, as he would have expected. With the item in full-contact with his flesh, he could feel it humming softly in his mind. As he ran their different options through his mind, he paid close attention to the SoulStar’s reaction.
After several silent seconds, Pol looked up and noticed Brenden watching him. “We leave it. It’s still going to be a hike, but I think we can make it on foot. If we need the truck, we can always come back.”
Brenden gathered his sport bag of belongings from the floor near his feet, muttering, “I’d rather shoot it and put us out of our misery.”
Pol grinned and gathered his few items he’d acquired since leaving Benjamin Steele’s vault.
Out in the cool afternoon air, he looked up the road whence they’d come to survey the oncoming traffic. He quit counting approaching cars when he reached a dozen.
Brenden joined Pol at the side of the road, his bag slung over his shoulder. He looked up at the gray swirling of clouds that canopied the entire valley. Then he looked up the road, mimicking Pol.
“I guess if we really need a ride, we can always ask a kind passerby,” Brenden said.
“They call it ‘hitching’, here.”
Brenden shrugged, then turned and began the long walk toward town, Pol beside him.
Chapter 39
“A Provisional Promotion”
Shannon opened the door and ventured cautiously into Jake and Ron’s effects studio. From the outside, the building looked like a retro-1800s style carriage house, all tans and browns. It didn’t prepare her for the ultra-modern environment within. The entire west half of the large room contained the work tables, a refrigerator, and stacks of different disembodied heads salvaged from various haunted house displays. Before her and to her left was the main part of the room, which housed the sofa, a few recliners, the massive entertainment center and the plasma TV. It was also where Damon was sitting on the floor, several automobile magazines spread out before him.
Neither Ron, nor Jake looked up from their work when she entered. They didn’t even appear to notice her. Ron was bent over a head that reminded her of every hard rocker Shannon had ever seen, with its long black hair and goatee. She could hear Jake bumping around, half submerged under the work table, presumably connecting something to the underside of the head.
“All right,” Jake’s muffled voice called, “try it now.”
“K,” Ron agreed, grabbed the stereo remote and pushed play.
The thunderous chorus of Vein Drain’s “Where the Dead Walk” thumped from the stereo speakers. It surprised her that she still remembered the title of the thunderous song years later.
Shannon covered her ears and was about to chastise the two men, when she realized that the head on the workbench was gyrating back and forth and its mouth was moving to the music. As she watched it go through its jerky motions, she realized that the face was modeled after Chaz Black.
“Looking good!” Ron assessed.
“Okay, shut it off. I found a potential problem,” Jake instructed from below.
Shannon sighed in relief when the room returned to comfortable silence.
The sound of her nearby attracted her son’s attention. “Hi, mom!” he called from the floor. Sunny raised her head to welcome her, too.
After glancing over at the guys, she crossed to her son and knelt down to receive a hug and kiss from him. “What are you reading?” she asked, shuffling through the collage of different automobiles around them. She couldn’t resist scratching Sunny’s ruff, as well.
“Jake told me, ‘Guys love cars’, so I asked to read about them. He’s letting me look through his magazines,” Damon explained.
Noticing his enthusiasm, Shannon smiled and asked, “What do you think, so far?”
Damon’s attention turned back to the materials. “I haven’t read enough to know for sure, but I think a lot has to do with grownups wanting to act like kids again,” he decided.
Shannon smiled to herself and kissed Damon on the crown of his head, noticing that his hair smelled like his apple-scented shampoo. “I’m going to talk to the guys about keeping the music down.”
“It’s not bothering me,” Damon said.
Recognizing the signs of her son returning his attention to his research, Shannon stood and walked over to the work benches, muttering, “Well, it bothers me.”
“Sorry, pardon?” Ron asked, looking up and noticing Shannon for the first time. “Oh! Hi.”
Shannon smiled at Ron, then bent and looked under the worktable. There, she found Jake sitting cross-legged and staring at a hefty, geared mechanism bolted to the underside of the table. “Are you trying to ruin my son’s hearing?” she asked, feigning politeness.
Looking at her past the mechanicals, Jake blinked dumbly, then asked, “What?”
Shaking her head in frustration, she stood up and hit Ron with a stern glare. The effects man blanched.
“Keep the volume down,” she commanded, to which Ron nodded.
Scuffling around below the table preceded Jake crawling out a moment later and climbing to his feet. “It doesn’t matter now, anyway. There’s a control arm that isn’t going to hold. We’ll need to redesign it and there’s not enough time before tonight.”
Ron grumbled unintelligibly under his breath and marched over to the fridge.
“What does that mean?” Shannon asked, suddenly afraid she may have caused some unforeseeable problem.
Jake crossed to one of the work tables, picked up a shop rag and wiped black grease off his hands. “We were hoping to have the head set up to welcome people to the museum exhibit tonight, but it’s not gonna be ready.” His disappointment was obvious.
Ron returned to them, a cola
in his hand. “We better get over and double-check the setup, while we still have time. This took longer than I had planned spending on it this morning.”
“Agreed,” said Jake, then turned to face the door as Anton walked in.
“Sir, Mr. Massey is here to see you,” the houseman announced.
Jake shot Ron an astonished look, who returned it with a shrug.
“You go home and get into your blacks. I’ll see what Trent wants, then come and pick you up.”
Ron nodded and hurried past Anton and out of the studio.
Jake moved to follow his houseman, but then he turned and said to Shannon, “I’d invite you to come meet Trent, but he’s not... um....”
Shannon smiled and said, “It’s fine. I’m going to stay here and visit with my son.”
Jake nodded, cracked a cocky grin, then followed Anton out.
“Did Trent say what he wanted?”
Anton shook his head as he led the way down the walk to the west side entry of the main house. “He didn’t offer, I’m afraid. And his companion seemed unwilling to even exchange pleasantries.”
This surprised Jake, who asked, “His companion?”
“A large, dark skinned man, with very haunted eyes.”
That didn’t sound good to Jake as he made his way through the house to the great room. Trent stood in its center, not touching anything, which struck Jake as odd. However, the large man beside him concerned him even more.
“Trent, good to see you.”
Trent nodded to Jake, then motioned to the man beside him, “Jake, Kiah. Kiah, Jake Andrews. He knows where to find your brother.”
Jake nodded, then shook his head. “Wait... what?”
Kiah made eye contact with Jake, and Jake instantly understood Anton’s assessment. He could always count on Anton to pick up on things like that.
“The Seer feels that you are our best chance for locating Levahn,” Kiah said.
The deep resonance of Kiah’s voice made Jake shiver.
“You’re here to retrieve your brother?” Jake asked, his voice sounding weak in his own ears.
Before Kiah could respond, he sensed a shift in the air around him and everything grew still. Everything. Looking around him, he realized the time itself had stopped, leaving himself the only person unaffected.
“Kiah, son of Mauren, son of Fralen.” The voice resonated in his bones, causing Kiah to stand a little straighter and look around him.
The light in the room gathered together to pool directly before him. Kiah had seen this happen before, but never as its focus. A few heartbeats later, the intense light broke at its center and a Chronologist, the runes in his chair glowing like amber energy through a vacuum tube, emerged from the light.
“I am Kiah.”
“Your presence here is unsanctioned,” the stern Chronologist announced. “Explain. Now.”
Deciding that it was never a good idea to lie to an Eternal, Kiah answered, “Levahn is family. I can’t let him jeopardize his eternal progression.”
“Even though not interfering is strictly enforced? You must leave him to his own fate–”
“I will not,” Kiah interrupted firmly.
The Chronologist grew silent and Kiah began to suspect that he had overstepped his bounds.
“Your stubbornness is legendary,” said a second voice that emanated from all around him. Then, without fanfare a man stood beside the Chronologist, dressed in crimson robes trimmed in silver. His dark hair flowed out wildly behind him and his eyes were so clear they almost seemed transparent.
Kiah knew the sight of Archangel Samuel and immediately dropped to his knees, bowing his head. “It was never my intention to cause trouble.”
The Archangel smirked and said, “Stand up, Kiah. I have no desire to talk to the top of your head.”
Kiah did as instructed.
“Your presence here–”
Unable to help himself, Kiah interrupted, “We’ve already established that.”
Scowling, Samuel’s power flared. His robes billowed out behind him like the wings of a great phoenix rising from the ashes.
Impressed, and chastened, Kiah shut up.
Content with the man’s silence, Samuel said, “Kiah, you have done much to better yourself in the eternities. You are to be a Guardian. You have a lovely wife and beautiful child. Why would you risk our wrath?”
Trying to sound contrite, Kiah replied, “Levahn is family. He’s my wife’s only brother and she loves him. It tears her up to see him where he is. He’s not here to hurt anyone or make a mess of things. He’s here to help. In trying to motivate him to better himself, Kenah and I filled his head with dreams of helping others and maybe earning a better place in eternity. It’s naive, yes, but what can I do? I have to do what I can to save him from... well... himself.”
Samuel paused, then turned to the Chronologist, who met his steady gaze. After a few moments of silent communication, Samuel returned his attention to Kiah.
“Kiah, son of–” Samuel caught himself, then continued, “Your motives are no longer suspect. You are hereby assigned to watch over Levahn until such time as a SoulChaser arrives to retrieve him.”
Stunned by the announcement, Kiah managed, “Thank you–”
“But,” Samuel interrupted sternly, “once that event begins to unfold, you are not to interfere. By doing so, you will violate our trust and the full weight of the Eternals will be brought down upon you.”
He managed to maintain his outward composure, but inside, Kiah was shaking.
“I can accept that.”
Without looking at him, Samuel motioned to the Chronologist. The stern man tapped a few buttons on the right arm of his chair, aggravating the pulsing and surging energy. Without warning, a bright beam of white lightning lanced down from the sky high above, pierced the floors above the great room and struck Kiah, about flooring him. He flung his arms wide from the impact and stood there for several seconds, back arched as the unearthly energy coursed through him. The white shadow of his own soul flashed up the energy corridor, then immediately returned, this time tinged with gold, slamming back into Kiah’s body.
As the lightning pulsed, the Chronologist said, “You have been granted the abilities that befit your Calling as Guardian and no more. Levahn is your ward. Guard him well. As to the rest, we will expect a full accounting when you return to us.”
The lightning vanished and Kiah crumpled to his knees. It took all his remaining strength to not pitch forward face-first onto the carpet.
“One more word of caution, Guardian,” Samuel said. The power of his voice drew Kiah’s head up and he peered at the Archangel. “There is a nexus of power emanating from this place. It may be why so many rogues are drawn here. Many more have already come. The Veil has grown thin due to the constant influx of Void energy. If the Veil collapses, there will be nothing to safeguard Eden from the creatures that exist beyond this realm. Keep that in mind as you protect your ward. This could get very dangerous before it’s all over.”
As the Eternal’s light faded, the rustic lodge atmosphere of the Andrews’ great room returned.
In the blink of an eye, Kiah went from standing there staring at Jake, to collapsed on the floor. Jake blinked, not recalling any movement between one position and the other. He suddenly felt the sensation of being in an historic movie theater when the celluloid film had to be spliced together by hand and shot a glance over at Trent. “What just happened?”
Trent was blinking, too, then he shook his head.
“I know where Levahn is,” Kiah said in a whisper that both could hear. “He’s not far from here. I think can take us right to him.” With obvious effort, he climbed to his feet.
Hands out to stop them, Jake asked, “Wait a minute. Are we in danger? The last time you were
here, it was a bloodbath.”
Trent paused and looked over at his former business partner. “Where’s Taya?”
Jake nodded, catching Trent’s train of thought. “Good point. Nick said she’s staying at an inn somewhere in town. I’ll get him on the phone and have him make sure she’s okay.”
Trent nodded. “You do that. I guess Kiah and I are going to get Levahn.”
The three men hurried from the great room, each with his own sense of urgency.
Chapter 40
“Kittens’ Got Claws”
Less than an hour later, Anton closed the door behind Taya, then motioned for her to follow him. “I’m afraid Master Andrews isn’t here right now. I understand he may be back shortly. He’s running some sort of errand for the festivities tonight.”
Taya nodded and followed Anton through the main house, to the solarium adjacent the back patio. Natey walked beside her in silence, something evidently on his mind.
“I have prepared coffee, if you would like some,” Anton offered.
“Yes, please.”
Anton smiled down at Natey. “And I have chocolate milk, if the young lad is allowed.”
Taya had forgotten how much she had liked Anton’s easy grace and subtle charm. “That’s fine,” she replied for her son, who hadn’t heard the older man.
Anton nodded and turned away. Before he exited the room, he turned back and said, “If I may say, it’s good to see you again. I’ve shared Master Jakob’s concern over your welfare... and Nathanial’s.”
Before she could comment, he had gone. Which was good, since Taya wasn’t sure how to feel about that news.
Rather than let the irritation of Jake’s Absence get to her, she sat at the glass and wrought iron table and looked out over the estate grounds. The solarium windows and doors stood open, giving the space a feeling of extension beyond the room’s glass walls.
Nate stood silhouetted in one of the doorways, looking out at the vast lawn to the vacant swing set about midway between the main house and the cottage.
Heaven's Eyes Page 19