When Jake opened his eyes he stood at the bottom of a long, steep road enclosed by a tunnel.
Ryan stood next to him, eyes bright. No sword, no strange look in his eyes. It was the man who had saved his life and spoken wisdom with every word.
“Jake?” Ryan’s face looked puzzled. “Are you with me?”
“Yeah, I . . .” Jake shook his head and stared at Ryan. “What did you say?”
“I asked if you’re ready to return to the sunlit lands.”
“Yeah, sure. I mean . . . sure.” He pointed behind him toward the dark castle. “How did we get here?”
“We walked.” Ryan frowned. “Are you quite well?”
A breeze brushed his face for the first time since he’d entered the underground kingdom. Along with the light wind came the smell of grass and cattails.
“Yeah, I’m good.”
They hiked up the dim road without speaking for the better part of thirty minutes. Finally they came around a bend and sunlight burst through an opening in the tunnel the size of a small door. Jake blinked against the brightness, which was almost blinding compared to the dim light he’d been in for the past—two hours? Three?
Jake slowed and let the light wrap around him like a blanket. He stood in the opening and drank in the trees and the pond and the meadow. He was back. And now that he was back in the light, he was going to get answers.
“What happened down there?”
“Pray tell, what do you mean?”
“You attacked me.” Jake narrowed his eyes. “Why did you do it?”
“Attacked?” Ryan’s lips pushed together and confusion contorted the rest of his face. “I don’t understand that of which you ask, Jake Palmer.”
Jake stepped across the meadow’s thick grass and stuck his face within inches of Ryan’s. “You understand exactly what I’m talking about.”
Ryan danced back, hands up, the corners of his mouth twitching as if ready to break into a smile.
“Please tell me what I understand, Jacob. My ears would welcome your view of what happened in the throne room.”
“Throne room? That wasn’t a throne room; it was a torture chamber.”
Ryan’s only response was a raised eyebrow.
Jake rubbed his fingers over the spot where Ryan’s sword had penetrated his skin, then lifted them. “See this blood? This tells me you were more than making a point. You either lost it down there, or you’re playing a game with my life that you’ve told me nothing about. Why did you do it?”
“I explained this already, Jacob. Because it was necessary.”
“That tells me nothing.”
“I have sympathy for your plight, but that is as much as I can reveal at this time.”
Again the look of mirth in Ryan’s eyes and the hint of a smile at the corners of his mouth, but seconds later the hint broke into outright laughter. The mirth turned to disdain.
“Tell me.”
“As great as my desire is to explain in detail what is truly transpiring here—and that desire is indeed great in the moment—I cannot do so. My deep apologies.”
The laughter died down, but the mockery in Ryan’s eyes did not. A slow rage built inside Jake, fueled by the mind games, the shock and fear of being stabbed in Underland, the answers that weren’t answers, all mixing into a Molotov cocktail that was about to explode.
“What is wrong with you?” Jake stepped forward, hands balled into fists. “Why are you putting me through this?”
“There is nothing ever wrong with a bit of amusement. In fact, it can be a balm to the soul.”
As Ryan continued to dance like a boxer in front of Jake, something broke inside. Without a sound he sprinted toward Ryan, drove a shoulder into his stomach, lifted him high, and slammed his body to the ground.
Ryan’s air whooshed out of him, but Jake didn’t hold back. He jammed his knee into Ryan’s ribs and placed his hands around the being’s throat. As Ryan gasped for air, Jake shouted, “Tell me!” over and over again.
Ryan grabbed Jake’s forearm in an iron grip. Jake clasped Ryan’s wrist and tried to yank it off, but it was like trying to bend a steel bar. With one swift move, Ryan wrenched Jake off of him and rolled to the right. A second later he was on his feet staring down at Jake.
“Well, that was enjoyable.” Ryan laughed again as he brushed the dirt off his dark green clothes. “But I think we should be finished, wouldn’t you agree?”
Jake struggled to his knees, staring up, heart pounding with fear. He rubbed his arm where Ryan had taken hold of it. Jake knew the grip well. It was the exact same one he’d felt the day before in the river. The one that had held him down.
The one that had wanted him to die.
Jake staggered back, blinking, shaking his head. “No, it’s not true. It can’t be.”
But the truth was undeniable and blazed its way into Jake’s heart. He gave little shakes of his head as he stared at Ryan.
“It was you.”
Jake stumbled back another two steps and went down, the revelation almost too much to take.
“Of course it was me.” Ryan lifted his hands and clapped once. Twice. Three times. He continued to clap, a second between each strike, as he started a slow circle around Jake.
“Clever, don’t you think? Almost killing you, then pretending to be your rescuer? In here I have all the power, and I thought that a fun little exercise for us to take part in.” Ryan laughed, a high, mocking laugh that slid down Jake’s back like ice. “But what took you so long? I anticipated you figuring it out before now. Is it possible that Leonard is right, that you are quite stupid?”
Jake’s mind spun, searching for answers. “Why would you do that to me?”
“It’s quite complicated.”
He staggered to his feet and rotated, his eyes fixed on Ryan, who continued to circle around Jake. “Try me. Let’s see if my little pea brain can track with you.”
“You are one who can bring much light to the people of this world. If you figure out this journey of healing you’re on, you’ll bring that much more light to everyone around you.” Ryan tightened his circle and Jake moved to his right, mirroring Ryan, two prizefighters staring each other down, evaluating strengths and weaknesses.
“And you don’t want that to happen.”
“To get there, to find the healing you crave, there are obstacles you must overcome.”
“And you’re going to try to stop me from succeeding.”
“Not try, Jake.” More laughter. “I don’t have to try.”
“Who are you?”
But Jake already knew the answer. Ryan had already spoken the truth yesterday on the bank of the river. There are forces in this universe that desire life, and others that are twisted, their only desire the destruction of all that is good.
“How can you be here? If this is a slice of heaven, how can you be in this realm?”
“Your holy book speaks of Satan being in the throne room of God.” Ryan smirked. “Any other questions, Jacob?”
“What do you want from me?”
They continued to circle, Ryan with his palms together. “That, I can tell you. The answer is quite simple. I want you to die.”
Jake took short breaths through his nose and pushed them out through his mouth. Steady. He didn’t doubt Ryan’s words. The conviction in his eyes only heightened Jake’s belief, but something was off. Something that made no sense. An instant later it cut through his mind like a shaft of light. Revelation swept over Jake and he realized why he hadn’t died in the river.
“You’re not allowed to kill me, are you?” Jake puffed out a mirthless laugh. “You would have done it in the river if you could have. But you didn’t. You held me under that water long enough to bring me to the edge of death, but you weren’t allowed to seal the deal.
“You were doing whatever you could to scare me off. Keep me from coming back. You crave the idea of seeing me shredded. Want to drive fear in my mind, anchor it down, and keep me in the prison I’ve lived in for the past year and a half.”
Ryan’s face was stone. No emotion. No reaction to Jake’s words.
“I’m right, aren’t I?” Jake balled his hands into fists. “You don’t want me to have healing or restoration, to gain back what I lost. You don’t have all the power you claim to wield. Just as Satan had to ask permission to sift Peter, there are rules, restrictions that hold you in check.”
“The old man might be wrong.” Ryan smirked again.
“You just said there were obstacles for me to overcome. What are they?”
“You’ll never pass the final test, Jake. Give up now. Life will go better for you. Leave the meadow and never come back. At least you’ll live.”
“Tell me what I have to do.”
Ryan stopped circling and drilled his gaze into Jake, but Jake held his ground. Ryan couldn’t kill him. Whatever this being threw at him, Jake would find a way to overcome.
“Tomorrow, meet here if you dare.” Ryan pointed at the meadow. “Right here, and you will have one chance. If you survive, you will have the healing you desire. Healing that will stay with you when you leave this realm. You have my word. But know this also. The restrictions placed upon me to this point? They will be lifted if we meet again.”
“We will meet again.”
“Then know this in the depth of your soul.” Ryan advanced three steps, then four toward Jake. “I’ve seen the future. If you come back, Jacob Palmer? You will die.”