Chapter 25
Sapphira carried the ovulum through the familiar tunnel, allowing its light to lead the way. The museum chasm lay ahead, as always. Of course, no one would be there. Bonnie and Shiloh and Irene would all have gone with Acacia, and the only voices within would be her own and any echo that cared to answer.
Still, maybe they left a note, a farewell of some kind. With nothing else to do, why not have a look? It certainly wouldn’t hurt anything, and maybe she could kill some time perusing some of the old scrolls she hadn’t read in the last hundred years.
As she neared the end of the tunnel, a strange light flickered in the distance. Did they leave the lantern behind? How could it still be burning after so many hours? Could one of them have come back and lost her way?
Sapphira tucked the ovulum under her shirt and ran. When she burst into the chamber, she stopped. A fire blazed at the center of the museum room, so bright, it washed out everything else inside.
She hurried ahead and stopped again at the museum’s broken doorway. Flames covered the tree of life, licking the trunk, branches, and leaves, yet they emitted no smoke at all or even the slightest crackling sound. Between her and the fire, two bodies lay amid scattered stones, pebbles, and sand, one body wearing a backpack.
Sapphira pushed her way into the room, fighting wave after wave of hotter and hotter air. After passing the two bodies, she stopped and raised her arms. “Extinguish!”
The flames continued unabated.
Turning her back to the fire, she tried to shield the victims. She grabbed a backpack strap and turned one body to its side. “Bonnie? Can you hear me?”
Bonnie’s smudged cheeks quivered, accentuating her swollen lips, but she gave no answer. Her dry skin was so cracked, it looked like dragon scales. Chalky dust spattered her clothes and made a trail of white that led back to the burning soil. Sapphira stared at the dust. Could it be residue from the bone she had sprinkled in the planter?
She reached for the other girl and turned her on her back. Her lips had also swollen from the heat. “Shiloh! Wake up!”
Blinking at the flames, Shiloh murmured, “Sapphira?”
Sapphira pushed her upright. “Try to crawl! I’ll drag Bonnie before she gets heat stroke.”
Shiloh rolled to her hands and knees. “Better check her collarbone first. It might be broken.”
“Okay.” Sapphira set her fingers on Bonnie’s collar and pressed down. Bonnie winced but her eyes stayed closed.
“It’s either bruised or broken, but we have to get her out of here somehow.”
Shiloh squatted and pushed her arms under Bonnie’s legs. “You get her back. Let’s see if we can carry her out.”
After sliding her arms between Bonnie’s backpack and her sweatshirt, Sapphira lifted and shuffled sideways, her knees bent. Shiloh did the same. With sweat dripping down her cheeks and nose, Sapphira grunted. The searing heat stung her skin, and Bonnie’s weight made her arms ache, but she had to push on. Bonnie was so dehydrated, she could die at any moment.
When they finally passed the entryway, Sapphira jumped up and pushed the broken door across the opening, blocking the heat.
Shiloh’s eyes turned glassy. She leaned her head against the wall and let her mouth drop open. Her tongue pushed out, cracked and swollen.
“I think we have some water left over.” Sapphira ran around the museum’s perimeter, collected four glass bottles from a pile of empty containers, and filled them from a jug of water she had stored long ago behind a barrel. She dashed back with the bottles in her arms and handed one to Shiloh. Shiloh poured a trickle over her tongue before pressing it against her lips for a long drink.
Sapphira poured another bottle over Bonnie’s lips. Then, ever so gently, she opened Bonnie’s mouth and let the water trickle inside.
As it drained to the back of her throat, Bonnie gagged, then swallowed, smacking her lips. Soon, Sapphira was able to get her to drink slowly, though her eyes remained closed.
She turned back to Shiloh. “How are you doing?”
Shiloh had already drained half of another bottle. “Much better. How is my twin?”
“I think she’ll be okay. She’s drinking.” Sapphira let some of the water wash over Bonnie’s parched skin. As she rubbed it in, the scaly cracks vanished. “What happened? Where are Acacia and Irene?”
“They made it through the portal, and we didn’t.” Shiloh gave her a shrug. “It’s kind of hard to explain.”
Sapphira propped Bonnie’s bottle as she continued to drink. “I have time. Give it a try.”
“Acacia’s fire surrounded us,” Shiloh said, drawing a circle in the air, “but when she climbed out, it started squeezing us in. A big rock dropped on Bonnie from the other dimension, and she rolled into the dirt under the tree. The tree caught fire, so I had to drag her out, broken collarbone or no broken collarbone. When I grabbed her, she was coated with that chalky stuff, and blue fire burned all over her body. I thought she was a goner, but after I dragged her a few feet, the flames just snuffed out by themselves. I think I fainted after that.” Shiloh drained her bottle and set it at her side. “Give me a minute to recover, and I’ll try to remember more.”
“Take all the time you need.” Sapphira pulled back Bonnie’s shirt collar, revealing an angry gash. Blood drained down her back, clotting quickly as it ran across her scaly, dirty skin, much of it dusted with the chalk Shiloh had mentioned. What could it all mean? Enoch had said something about the planter becoming a resurrection garden for dragonkind.
She stretched Bonnie’s collar a few more inches. Would it be okay to see if she had wings? Even if she didn’t before, maybe she had them now.
She eased the collar back into place. No. It wouldn’t be right. That revelation belonged to Bonnie alone.
“Bonnie?” she called softly. “Can you hear me?”
“Hmmm?” Smacking her lips, Bonnie opened her eyes. “Sapphira?”
Sapphira couldn’t hold back a laugh. “Girl, you really scared us.”
Bonnie rotated her shoulder, grimacing. “I think I might’ve broken something.”
“Maybe.” Sapphira pulled back Bonnie’s collar again. “We’ll have to clean this wound right away and then take you to the hot spring for a good soaking.”
“That sounds perfect.” As she stretched out her arms, her face twisted in pain. “Help me get my backpack off.”
Billy slid on his headset, gripped Merlin’s yoke, and looked over at Walter as he sat in the copilot’s seat. “Ready to give it a try?”
After adjusting the earphones, Walter set his microphone in front of his lips. “Can you hear me all the way over there?”
“Loud and clear. I know it seems stupid to wear these, but they’ll come in handy when the propeller gets louder.” Billy rolled the airplane along the bumpy dragon launching pad. Outside, Ashley and Acacia waved, while Hartanna basked nearby in the sun, obviously exhausted. Stooping between Hartanna’s front and back legs, Pearl rubbed some kind of salve into one of her wings, massaging a wound she had suffered while saving Pearl’s life. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to rescue Mason. It was all she could do to snatch Pearl out of the air just before she hit the ground.
Billy sighed. Now another widow would cry out for comfort as she reared her children without a husband … or an Adam. If this mission failed, he would have to get used to that term. He might have to stay in Second Eden for a very long time.
Fortunately, Onyx and Willow survived, but Steadfast would have to stay in the flying hospital with them, at least for a while. Cliffside was already making plans to bring the hospital in for a landing. With the threat from the altered tribes so low, he saw no reason to keep it up in the air, but since landing was a complicated procedure, he was taking plenty of time to do it safely.
As he throttled up, Billy tried to smile in spite of his anxiety. Since the tunnel portal in the Valley of Shadows was inaccessible behind Abraham’s and Angel’s wall, and his father had failed to open a portal with fire, this journey represented their last hope. And it could be a dangerous journey, maybe even shakier than his close encounter with the flying hospital.
Walter tossed a packet of peanut butter crackers into Billy’s lap. “What’s up? You look like you bit into a hunk of earwax.”
“Just thinking about all the stuff going on.” He picked up the crackers. “Where’d you find these?”
Walter tilted his head toward the back. “There’s a stash by one of the seats.”
“Sir Barlow sat there,” Billy said. “He loves peanut butter.”
As he unwrapped his own packet, Walter gazed out the window on his side. “I’ve been thinking, too. The creepiest thing was what Ashley said when she stood near that barrier.”
Billy nodded as he replayed the scene in his mind. Hartanna had already tried to breach the wall of fire, but she could neither penetrate it nor fly high enough to surmount it. Then he and Ashley had flown the airplane, trying to find the top, but to no avail. After landing in a dry portion of the marsh, he stood next to Ashley as she faced the flames. “I sense two minds within the fire,” she had said, “one male and one female. They are in pain, more emotional than physical, I think.” After shivering in a blast of cold wind, she added, “But there is much love within that fire. They are content.”
As he pushed Merlin toward top speed and began a wide orbit around the village, Billy added a shiver of his own. A wall of human flames protected the people from a horde of giants, shadow creatures, and an evil dragon. That might just be the strangest of all the strange things he had seen over the last couple of years.
He looked out the window again. Now that they were about to pass directly over the birthing garden, it was time to go for it. The portal was probably directly above where Roxil had transformed. “You might want to wait to eat those crackers. We’re going to climb like crazy now.”
“Good thought,” Walter said in a garbled voice. He swallowed his mouthful and tightened his seat belt. “Let her rip!”
Billy guided Merlin into a climb, circling as tightly over the garden as he could. Since Ashley was already concocting a formula for fuel using the oil deposits in the area, they didn’t have to worry about running out. And they had plenty of time, so it made no sense to try for a dangerously steep incline. It was better just to take it easy.
“Twelve thousand feet?” Walter asked as he peered at the altimeter. “What does it max out at?”
“Supposedly about forty-five thousand, but I couldn’t get past thirty-five when I tried to fly over the fire. The air pressure gradients are different here.”
They continued their ascension, both staying quiet. With each orbit, the wall of fire came into view through Billy’s window, rippling bright orange and towering out of sight. He studied each wave in the wall. What might Abraham’s counsel be? Maybe he would say this mission was pretty much a waste. Since Merlin couldn’t fly over the wall, what made anyone think it could fly high enough to find the portal? Besides, when they dropped out of the portal, they were at five thousand feet. If there was any way to get back through from the lower end, wouldn’t they have reached that point already?
Billy eased out of the climb. “Let’s go back.”
“What’s up?” Walter glanced at the meter again. “We’re not at max yet.”
“I know.” He heaved another sigh and leaned back in his seat. “You ever get the feeling that you just can’t do something, and you really can’t explain why?”
Walter tapped his head with a finger. “That little voice inside?”
“Sometimes there.” Billy pressed his fist against his chest. “And sometimes here.”
“Yeah. I know what you mean.” As Merlin began a slow descent, Walter looked out the window. “I get that feeling more and more these days, especially since I’ve been hanging around Ashley. She’s … well … I don’t know how to say it.”
Billy shifted his gaze straight ahead but kept watching him out of the corner of his eye. “Penetrating?”
“Perfect word.” Walter pulled another cracker out of his packet but just held it aloft. “I’m really too young for her, you know.”
Billy pushed Merlin into a steeper descent. “You’re definitely too young right now.” He almost added, “When we finally get out of this place you both might be too old to get married,” but he decided against it.
Now flying low, Billy peeked out the side window. In the field next to the birthing garden, Elam and Sir Barlow stood in front of sixty or so men, demonstrating sword thrusts and footwork. Obviously the troops from the other village had arrived, swelling their ranks. While a few were able to follow the moves with precision, the others seemed clumsy and uncertain. It would be a while before this army was ready for battle.
Nearby, Valiant practiced swordplay with Candle and Windor, while Mantika and Listener watched, hand in hand. With his graceful moves and precise footwork, Valiant was every bit as accomplished as Sir Barlow, while Candle, mimicking every step, thrust, and parry, had already surpassed some of the men. Valiant and Candle would soon be a formidable pair.
At the edge of the field, one man climbed aboard Clefspeare’s back. Little did this pilot recruit know that sitting atop the greatest dragon warrior of them all was a privilege that few others had enjoyed. He was in for the ride of his life.
After making a swing around the field, he headed for the dragon launching site. He let his shoulders sag. Watching the army hadn’t boosted his confidence. Although when Thigocia and Hartanna reached full strength, they would have more dragons than the enemy, the Nephilim and shadow people could easily overwhelm them with numbers. The good guys wouldn’t last long, especially if an attack came at night. And even if Abraham and Angel could keep their fire going for months, Flint might have trained an unstoppable army by that time.
If only Patrick could become Valcor again. That would help a lot. But his latest attempt, with Acacia’s fiery blue aura surrounding him, yielded only the same gentleman he had always been. Still, he didn’t seem to mind. Working in the infirmary with Ruth had brought a bounce back into his step.
As soon as they landed, Ashley opened the rear passenger door and climbed inside. “What happened?” she asked as she made her way to the front.
“We passed the portal altitude and nothing happened,” Billy said. “We’d better get used to the fact that we’re stuck here for a while. My biggest concern is getting word to my mother about what’s going on.”
“Well, I’ve been thinking about that.” Ashley stooped in the aisle just behind Billy and Walter and nodded toward the airplane’s dash. “I might be able to use Merlin’s transmitter in combination with the magnetic field generator and maybe send a signal to Larry. Even if I can’t send voice, maybe some bursts of text data would be enough. He can decipher almost anything.”
“How long would it take you to set that up?”
Ashley shrugged. “Impossible to know. I have no idea what kind of supplies they have here, but if they can make a magnet-driven flying hospital, they must have some techno-wizardry.”
“Maybe.” Billy looked out the front window. He could see the ripples in the protective wall even from where they sat. “But the local wizard might be going up in flames right now.”
“What about Enoch?” Walter asked. “He knows we’re here. Won’t he let our families know?”
Ashley laughed. “He might, but he’s kind of unpredictable.”
As Billy thought about the people back home, Bonnie came to mind. The last he heard, a big rock had fallen on her, and she and Shiloh seemed to be in trouble. Was she alive? How could he find out? And what about Mom? She was probably already worried sick about Dad, and she had no clue that he was now a dragon again. But what could anyone do about it? They all had to press on and be the warriors they were called to be.
“We just have to trust Enoch’s wisdom.” He set his hand in front of Ashley, his palm down. “Meanwhile, we’re in this together, no matter what.”
Ashley covered his hand with hers. “You got it. We’re a team, come dragons or ugly giants.”
“I ain’t afraid of no giants,” Walter said as he added his hand. “We’ll stick together like glue.”
Ashley withdrew her hand and wiped it on Walter’s jeans. “Or like peanut butter.”
Marilyn?”
The male voice drifted into her mind from somewhere far away, quiet, yet probing. Was it a dream? It wasn’t Larry. Not Edmund, either. Walter’s dad?
She shook herself awake, lifted her head from her folded arms, and peered into the darkness. “Carl?”
A switch clicked. Light flooded the computer room, revealing Carl and Catherine Foley walking through the doorway to the hall. Sir Edmund and Shelly entered behind them, each with steaming cups in their hands.
“We just got home,” Carl said. “It’s almost one in the morning, but I thought it would be okay to bring you some news.”
Marilyn waved them toward the scattered chairs. “Yes. Of course.”
“Shelly turned off the alarms and let us in.” He removed his wet trench coat and draped it over a chair. “Sir Newman’s been trying to call you. He finally got hold of me while we were on our way back from the airport.”
“Very strange.” Marilyn looked up at Larry’s main console. “Is our phone on the fritz?”
“I will now play back audio that includes your most recent directive.”
A cartoon megaphone appeared on the screen. Larry’s speakers crackled briefly, then Marilyn’s voice came through loud and clear. “Larry, if I fall asleep, turn off the phone, and don’t wake me up, even if the slayer himself breaks in.”
Larry’s voice returned. “End of recording.”
“Whew! I must have been really out of it.” Marilyn rubbed her eyes, then looked up at Carl again. “What’s the news?”
“It’s nothing urgent, so let’s sit down first.” While Shelly and Edmund passed around the cups, Carl pulled four chairs into a circle with Marilyn’s. When everyone was seated, he leaned toward her. “Your research led Sir Newman to a house Palin once owned. It’s just outside of London, a small place where an elderly man lives, just him and his dog. He gave Newman permission to search the house and grounds, and with the help of a bloodhound and a metal detector, he located a buried container.” He drew a rectangle in the air. “One of those fireproof boxes.”
While he took a sip of coffee, Marilyn drummed her fingers on her thigh. Waiting for the bottom line of this story was maddening. “Go on,” she said.
“Of course, the box was locked, but it didn’t take long to force it open. Inside, Sir Newman found a single sheet of paper and a red gem.”
“A rubellite?” she asked.
“Not difficult to guess, was it?” After taking another sip, Carl nodded at Larry. “Sir Newman said he would scan the sheet of paper and email it to you. Did you get it?”
“Affirmative. I am displaying it now.”
The screen showed a pencil sketch of a sword, an exquisite rendering of hilt and blade with every detail meticulously included. In the blade’s etching, two dragons battled, and on the hilt, Palin had drawn lines radiating from a small circle as if to make the round object sparkle.
“Excalibur,” Edmund said. “A fine drawing, indeed.”
Marilyn stood and set her finger on the image. “Larry, can you zoom in on this text at the bottom?”
After a brief flash, two lines of neat block lettering filled the screen. Marilyn read them out loud. “Morgan claimed that removing the gem would take a third of Excalibur’s power away. Perhaps frustration will cause my master to stop hunting children.”
She turned slowly back to the others. “So Excalibur is crippled.”
“And supposedly,” Carl said, taking Catherine’s hand, “Walter has the sword in some kind of alternate reality.”
Marilyn took her seat and counted on her fingers. “We think Jared, Billy, Ashley, Abigail, Thigocia, Shiloh, Sir Patrick, and Sir Barlow are all over there. At least that’s what Sapphira said when she made her last call. She said something about Shiloh possibly staying with her on Earth, but she wasn’t sure.”
“Maybe I’m crazy,” Shelly said, “but if my brother needs that gem to make the sword work better, then I’m all for trying to get it to him. Since they haven’t come back, they might be in all sorts of trouble.”
“But how do we get it there?” Marilyn asked. “We don’t have a way to cross dimensional barriers. We don’t have any dragons or Oracles of Fire.”
Larry’s speakers clicked on. “May I interject an idea?”
“Of course.” Marilyn rolled back to the desk and turned up his volume knob. “Go ahead.”
The image on the console screen changed to an object that looked similar to an old-fashioned hourglass. A transparent rectangle separated the circular platforms at the top and bottom, and four dowels surrounded it at the corners, obviously supports or places to grasp it.
“This is Apollo. Although it was destroyed in the Circles of Seven, I still have the schematic, including every detail you would need to reconstruct it. If you can locate a portal gateway to Walter’s realm, I should be able to analyze the light patterns, use Apollo to create the proper flash, and send the gem through the opening. If anyone has the courage to attempt the journey, we could try to send a human.”
Carl raised his hand. “In a heartbeat. Anything to help Walter … and the others, of course.”
“How long would it take us to build Apollo?” Marilyn asked.
“Impossible to calculate, but without Ashley’s abilities, it could take several weeks or perhaps much longer.”
“Several weeks?” Marilyn clenched her eyes shut. “Even if we could build it, only Sapphira can find the right portal, and we haven’t heard from her in a while.”
“Did Sapphira say where she was going?” Carl asked.
Opening her eyes again, Marilyn shook her head. “Just that she and Gabriel had to go into hiding, somewhere the slayer would never find them.”
“Have you tried calling her back?”
“Several times.” Marilyn slid her desk phone closer and scrolled through the numbers in her caller ID list. “Want to try again?”
Carl stood and read the number on the tiny screen. “That’s Walter’s cell phone.”
“I guess she borrowed it.”
Standing, Carl fished his phone from his pocket, punched a speed dial, and held the phone to his ear. After a few seconds, his eyebrows shot up. “This is Carl Foley. Who is this?” A smile spread across his face. “Gabriel? How did you get Walter’s phone?”
He sat back down. “Yes … Uh huh … Yes, it’s okay to be out of breath. Flying must take a lot of energy. Take your time.” He looked up at Marilyn. “He’s on his way here.”
“Can he tell us where Sapphira is?” Shelly asked.
Carl raised a finger. “Good. … Yeah, you can’t do that on a commercial flight. Listen. Do you know where Sapphira is? … You do?” Carl gave everyone a thumbs-up. “Good. I’m going to jump in the car right now and head west. You find a safe, warm place to hide and call me to let me know where you are. No sense killing yourself flying at night. … Yeah. I’ll bet.” He grinned. “I wouldn’t want to fly through a swarm of hungry bats either. Talk to you soon.”
Carl closed the phone and pointed it at Catherine and Shelly in turn. “I’ll need both of you to help me drive. No sleeping stops until we find Gabriel.”
Shelly let out a whoop and shouted, “Road trip!”
“Did Gabriel offer any updates?” Catherine asked. “Does he know where everyone is and how they’re doing?”
Carl shook his head. “I’m sure we’ll get the lowdown when we find him. He did say something about a hideout being guarded by the last of the Nephilim, but he didn’t say what that meant.”
“Larry?” Marilyn’s words stretched out as she yawned. “Will you please print out the parts list for Apollo?”
“Certainly. It is quite lengthy, but it will be all you need.”
Sir Edmund rose to his feet. “Since Mrs. Bannister and I will be the only adults remaining, I will excuse myself and find a place to sleep outside.”
“No way,” Marilyn said, pointing at him. “You stay in Billy’s room, and I’ll sleep with the girls. Even an honorable knight such as yourself would agree to that, wouldn’t you?”
Edmund shifted nervously on his feet. “Well, since you put it that way, I suppose it will be all right.”
“Besides …” Marilyn pulled one of the sheets from Larry’s printer bin and scanned the parts list. “I’ll need you to be wide awake to guard the house while I take the girls on a shopping trip to the local cross-dimensional supply store.”
Seated on a stone, Semiramis passed her hands around the candle’s red flame. A gray bead dripped down the side, hardening as it neared the splatter of wax on the stone table. She inhaled the smoke and closed her eyes as she chanted in low tones.
The time has come to spring the trap
That wisdom once began;
No love or friend or even son
Shall stop my master’s plan.
Now come to me, my dragon lord;
The fools have done our will.
Prepare our weapons, honed for blood;
The time has come to kill.
Looking up into the dark sky, Semiramis waited. How long would it take? Her previous summons had taken an hour, or so it seemed. Sitting in this buffer between the worlds always skewed her sense of time passage, worse than the Bridgelands ever could. Yet, this realm served a purpose, an excellent hideaway for clandestine meetings that only the most skilled in Samyaza’s arts could enter, the perfect place to hide the anchor points between Earth and Hades.
Finally, after what seemed like twenty minutes, Arramos landed next to the table. As red and shimmering as ever, he stalked toward her, his magnificent wings stretching once, then pulling in.
“Your calling spell would lead me to believe that you have good news.” Arramos stopped at the opposite side of the table and extended his neck. As his head hovered over the candle flame, his red pupils throbbed like a beating heart. “Tell me what you know.”
Semiramis raised a hand and caressed the dragon’s scaly cheek. “Good news, indeed, my lord. The rope is in place, the giants are in Second Eden, and the garden has been fertilized. Although the pathetic children Abraham calls his army have three dragons now, they are guided by the son of Shem, who has never been a general in his life. His only other true warriors are a boy who breathes fire, his wise-cracking sidekick, and an idiom-quoting, centuries-old knight. You might also count one local soldier, a certain Valiant, but his promotion to the role of prophet could well hinder his fighting status.”
“Promotion? What has become of Abraham?”
“Abraham has made himself into a wall of flames, thinking his ring of fire will be enough to enclose our army.”
“He invoked the prophecy so soon?” Arramos’s emerging grin revealed four daggerlike teeth. “We could not have hoped for a better result.”
“True, but he had no choice. His misguided love for the lying woman proved to addle his brain more thoroughly than we predicted.”
“Then he will burn out soon. Perhaps six months, a year at the most.”
“Well … not exactly.” Semiramis drummed her fingers on the table, glancing back and forth between the splash of wax and the dragon’s fiery eyes. “There is a … a complication, and it will not please you.”
Arramos’s voice deepened to a growl. “Tell me.”
“The woman, Angel they call her, joined the wall of flame. Mardon analyzed the data streaming through our cross-dimensional viewer, and, for some reason, Abraham and Angel together are able to sustain energy far longer than simple mathematics would suggest. The fuel for the boundary could last four years or more.”
“Four years?” The dragon’s eyes flared. “Can Mardon and the slayer keep the dragons on the run for that long?”
“Not likely. As soon as one of them learns she is being chased by a dead scientist and a floating bauble, she and the rest will come out of hiding, and Second Eden will be flooded with dragons.”
“Then let us end the charade.” Arramos backed away. “Meet me at the chasm with Mardon.”
Semiramis rose to her feet. “Of course, my lord, but may I ask what you’re planning?”
“The garden has already reconstituted dragons. I know for a fact that it will also reconstitute a human, and we have one who needs a body.”
“But Clefspeare and Roxil had a body already. They merely needed to be transformed. Creating a new body will take more time.”
“We have time.” Arramos raised a foreleg. A crystalline bauble, semitransparent and glowing, floated above his clawed hand. “Seeds germinate. Seedlings grow. Then the harvest. Four years should be enough.”
“What of your plan to hold Bonnie Silver hostage?” Semiramis asked. “Using her finger to chill their hearts was a stroke of genius. It can still be harvested.”
A low chuckle rumbled from the dragon’s throat. “When that self-righteous little vixen finally enters Second Eden, she will be Devin’s first victim. I am sure he will be happy to begin his new war against dragonkind by slicing her apart bit by bit.”
“At the risk of testing your patience with yet another question, my lord, what of my son? He has been a faithful servant to both of us.”
“We will send him, as well. Someone needs to plant our seed in the garden.”
As Semiramis gazed into the candle’s flame, she slowed her words. “I told him he could not survive in that world, that being dead on Earth made it impossible for him to leave Hades.”
“There is a way. Since you have been watching the proceedings in Second Eden, I thought you might have discerned it by now and tried to go there yourself.”
Semiramis folded her hands on the table. “I … I see once again that I lack your wisdom. I would very much like for us to go to Second Eden together.”
“There is no need to try to flatter me. I will see to your safe journey there. With both of you living outside of Abraham’s wall, we will have the spies we need. Devin will surely rise again.”
“Mardon will need an appropriate disguise. The Oracles know him and will not be duped easily.”
“I will take care of disguises, as well. Just guide him to the chasm’s bridge during Second Eden’s next eclipse cycle, and I will arrange the rest.” Arramos unfurled his wings, creating a draft that blew out the candle. Now in total darkness, his voice seemed lower and more menacing than ever. “Devin the dragon slayer must live again and stalk the land of Second Eden. And he will need no disguise.”
Bonnie sat between Sapphira and Shiloh. With an old journal open over her lap, and their bare feet dangling in the hot spring’s bubbling pool, everything was perfect for a nice long reading session. The ovulum, sitting in Sapphira’s open palm, gave them just enough light to see each other’s faces. It would be fun trading stares and smiles in the wash of red light, especially as Bonnie read out loud about her many harrowing adventures.
She turned the page to a very special entry in one of her older journals. “This is what I wrote right before the dragon slayer killed my mother. Earlier that day, my father had drawn blood from me, even though he had promised so many times never to do it again. After he took it and sent me away, I felt … well …” She pulled the journal closer so she could make out her cursive script in the dim glow. “If I just read it, I think you’ll understand.”
She took a deep breath and began, “I descended into the shadowlands today. A specter of fear wrapped his cold, cruel fingers around my heart and led me into his chamber of treachery, a sanitary cube of torment that once again enclosed my mind in darkness. Can any instrument of torture deliver cruelty as savage as love betrayed? Does a dungeon’s rack stretch a body as sadistically as betrayal stretches trust? Can faith endure a traitor’s sinister hand as it turns the wheel, each notch testing conviction until the sword of despair separates peace from its rightful habitat?”
As Bonnie read, Sapphira smiled and nodded, acknowledging that she had seen this entry before. Shiloh sat agape, gasping at times, and tearing up at others. With both girls paying such rapt attention, this gathering seemed more like a slumber party than an exile in the underworld.
Finally, Bonnie took in another breath and finished the entry. “And now I see it. I can give you nothing that you have not already given to me. I am purchased, a slave of love. I am your vessel to be used in whatever way you wish. If you make me an urn for ashes, a common earthen jar to bear incinerated bones, leaving me to collect dust in a forgotten tomb, even then, I will be content. For just as you would not leave your son forever in the ground, I know you will raise me up from the land of the dead. You have not ignited this fire in my heart to be wasted in Sheol’s pit. Though dead, buried, and forgotten, I will rise again.”
She closed the journal and quoted the remaining words from memory. “No matter what happens, I will never forsake you, for you will never forsake me. You are with me, no matter where I go.”
“That was so beautiful,” Shiloh said, wiping a tear away. “I know exactly how you felt.”
Bonnie took Shiloh’s hand and moved it to her lap. “After forty years in the sixth circle, I’m sure you do.” Pulling Sapphira’s hand to join hers and Shiloh’s, she added, “And who knows loneliness better than you?”
“I can’t argue with that.” Sapphira tightened her grip on Bonnie’s fingers. “No matter how long it takes, we can do this.”
Shiloh tightened her grip, as well. “We’ll face dragons, giants, slayers, and even the devil himself if we have to.”
Bonnie wrapped her wings around Sapphira and Shiloh and pulled them close. “As long as we’re together, we can face anything.”