Something is troubling you. I can tell,’ Devreaux said softly as the 604 settled into a high altitude cruise. Alex broke his stare from out of the window and looked at Devreaux. ‘I can always tell,’ he said with a comforting smile.
‘Sometimes, sometimes I think I go too far.’
‘How far is too far?’
‘Is there a line?’
‘Where? Between life and death? Between good and evil? Right and wrong? Left and right?’
‘Why am I cursed to do this Gabriel? Of all of us why must I carry the darkest of tasks?’
‘Because you have the shoulders to bear it. I don’t know Alex. It’s how you were made. This isn’t like you.’
‘Even the coldest of winters occasionally feels the warmth of the sun and covets the summer.’
‘Every winter becomes a summer eventually. The coldness will pass, the warmth will come. Have faith. We have a long way to go to reach those golden meadows. You must endure.’
‘How do you endure?’
Devreaux smiled and looked out the window. ‘I find comfort in the greater plan for us all. That every day, every life is merely the smallest part in a greater journey. That someday when we’ve found the limit to what the human spirit will endure and we finally break the cycle then we’ll reach The Promised Land. We’ll cast aside the shadows and all will be made as it was intended to be.’ Devreaux turned to Alex again.
‘It is a nice dream. I know why everyone calls you Preacher...’
‘You can make it our reality. We all can. We just have to keep the faith.’
‘I had never doubted it until I felt the torment of those souls in that place. So much suffering it overwhelmed me. Like being smothered in a blanket.’
‘She is safe Alex. Of that I am certain.’ Devreaux stared out at the desert below. ‘But there is a darkness coming, I feel it all around us like a rising tide. The forces we have kept in check for so long are finally overwhelming us, and chaos is again rising from order. This is the start of it. The great war of our time.’
‘Iraq?’
‘That’s just the opening battle, they’re unleashing enemies they cannot possibly comprehend. Their hubris and the false comfort of military superiority are about to be found deeply wanting. Their enemy has found its voice. Islam is a powerful and virulent agent to spread discourse and will shake the foundations of everyone in its path. Of all the great books, it is the one that carries the most powerful call to its followers. The King of the East will finally return to face the King of the West on the field of battle, and then, at the end of all of this, the fate of humanity on this planet will be resolved for all time.’
‘What will we do? What are we to do?’
‘The time for keeping order and balance in chaos is drawing to an end. Now we must ensure the righteous prevail. They believe this is a battle between their beliefs, but it runs so much deeper than that.’ Devreaux looked at Alex. ‘The Guild must come together now. We can no longer help them. The era of Kingdoms of God who called on our services for over two millennia is drawing to a close, as was foreseen, to be replaced by much darker forces that worship at altars of commerce and greed. In their blindness to the truth around them the poor and the righteous will be destroyed, and so The Guild must stand for those who are cast aside. Have faith. There is a plan for all of us.’ Alex’s doubt melted away, he closed his eyes and felt a calmness wash over him. Devreaux smiled as he sensed his message had served its purpose. ‘Faith is a beautiful thing Alex. It makes us all that we are...’