Jacob dreamt he was in an earthquake. He held Malini’s hand while buildings crumbled around them. Everything inside him told him to run, but Malini wouldn't budge.
She was saying something over and over. “It’s time. It’s time.”
He woke with a jolt, Malini shaking his shoulder. “It’s time, Jacob. Dr. Rahkmid is pulling out of his driveway. We need to follow him.”
He shook his head and reached for the keys.
“No. Wait. Don’t start the car until he’s a few blocks up. I don’t want him to suspect anything.”
Forcing his lips to form words, Jacob mumbled, “What if I lose him?”
“You won’t.” Malini dug in her purse and handed him what looked like a piece of candy. He unwrapped it and popped it into his mouth.
“EWW! This is horrible. What did you feed me?”
“It’s a Swedish cough drop. The horehound root will help wake you up.”
Jacob manipulated the hard lump to the side of his mouth. “How about a Red Bull instead?” He rolled down his window and spat the lozenge onto the road.
Malini laughed. “No time to stop.”
Jacob turned the key and pulled onto the road as Rahkmid’s car hooked left up ahead. “There are a few behind your seat, along with some snacks.”
Checking the six-inch area behind the bench of Jacob’s truck, Malini gave an appreciative squeal. “Jacob Lau, you prepared for this. You planned for something in advance.”
“I did.”
“When did you become so responsible?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Sometime between being expected to save the world and wanting to spend the rest of my life with a Healer.”
Silence.
Jacob glanced toward Malini who was gaping at him. “What?” he asked.
“Did you just say you wanted to spend the rest of your life with me?”
“Well … yeah. Obviously that wasn’t a proposal or anything.” He laughed. “That would be the lamest proposal ever.”
He heard her shift in her seat. “But you think about it?”
“Sure. I mean, after all we’ve been through, it’s kind of ridonkulous to think we’d end up with anyone else. Could you imagine bringing someone new into this life?”
Silence.
Jacob groaned. “That came out wrong. That’s not why I think about growing old with you, Malini. I love you. We’ve tried the apart thing and it does not work for me.”
The force of the kiss she planted on his cheek almost made him swerve off the road.
“You are the best boyfriend ever,” she said.
“Yeah, I know.”
The crumpled wrapper from the cough drop hit him in the temple. “Jacob, look, he’s turning onto the highway.”
Jacob followed the professor up the ramp and merged into early morning traffic. “This is good,” he said. “He won’t notice we’re following him with the other traffic.”
Hours ticked by with nothing but the hum of the engine. Jacob forced himself to concentrate on the road, guzzling Red Bull to stay awake, while Malini dozed against the passenger side window. It wasn’t helping that Rahkmid’s car drove at a steady two miles under the speed limit. No unnecessary or sudden moves to wake Jacob up. It was early, much too early.
As the sun broke the horizon and stretched its golden rays across the countryside bordering the highway, Jacob couldn’t stand the silence a moment longer. He reached over and shook Malini’s shoulder.
“Look, Malini, the sunrise.”
She opened her eyes and stretched. “It’s beautiful.”
“Yeah. That’s why I woke you up and not just because I was bored out of my mind following this guy.”
“Do you want to know something weird about the sunrise?”
“What?”
“The name Lucifer means literally light-bringer, or morning star.”
Jacob grimaced. “That’s the misnomer of the year.”
“Some people think that it was his name before the fall, when he lived with God, but the truth is he invented that name after he came to Earth. It’s part of his illusion.”
“Sneaky.”
Rahkmid turned his blinker on and exited toward the Chicago suburbs. “It’s about time,” Jacob said. He dropped back, following the blue Honda Accord as the suburbs melted into a more rural landscape. In the distance, a herd of large animals grazed in a field.
“Those look like—”
“Bison. Pull over, Jacob. I know where he's going.”
Malini reached for her cell phone and his mom’s face filled the screen before she hit the call button.
“What? Where are we?” Jacob asked.
“Lillian,” Malini said. “Fermilab … Can you bring the others? … Yes. Send Grace and Master Lee … Perfect.” She tapped end call.
“Malini! What is this place?” Jacob placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Fermilab. It's a government laboratory that studies subatomic particles. They accelerate and smash pieces of atoms together to see what will happen. They discovered the top quark here.”
“Uhuh. Maybe you should skip to the part that explains why Lucifer is here with a team of physicists.”
Malini brought up an image of Rahkmid’s diagram on her phone. “Look at the picture, Jacob. Lucifer is trying to create a way to bring an army of Watchers into this reality. To do that, he has to rip a tunnel between Earth and Nod. Fermilab is the home of the largest particle accelerator in the world next to CERN in Switzerland. It’s called the Tevatron. For years scientists have tried to use particle accelerators to replicate the conditions of the Big Bang, you know, the force that started it all. But it’s never worked because scientists don’t have God to produce the magic that made the collision happen in just the right way.” Malini pointed at the sketch of human sacrifice on her screen. “I think Lucifer has figured out a way to tap into that magic. Only, if we’ve learned anything about Lucifer, this Big Bang won’t create, it’ll destroy.”
A lump formed in Jacob’s throat. “How do we stop him?”
“The same way we always do. Kill anything or anyone that bleeds black.”
Most of the time the finer points of Malini’s plans escaped Jacob. It wasn’t that he was unintelligent but that he knew his strengths. He trusted Malini with the details and brought the muscle when she needed it. But this time, a tone in her voice tugged at a sore spot deep within his chest. He turned away from her and rested his forehead on the steering wheel.
“I can’t kill her, Malini. Dr. Silva bleeds black and we both know she’s fallen off the grid since we got Dane back. You haven’t said anything to me about her, but I can put two and two together. I won’t kill her. I can’t. I just can’t.”
Malini placed a hand on his shoulder. He turned his head, surprised that Malini was weeping in the passenger seat. It seemed like she was always crying lately. Not a good sign.
“It’s not you who has to,” she said, her voice trembling. “But you won’t be able to save her.”
At the words that sealed Dr. Silva’s fate, an involuntary sob escaped his throat. He accepted Malini’s hug, their tears mingling where his cheek touched hers. “I hate knowing the future,” he said.
“Me, too.”
Jacob nodded and wiped under his eyes. By the time they’d pulled themselves together the sound of a firecracker signaled Lillian’s arrival, her enchanted staff in hand.
Deep beneath the earth, within a four-mile-long tunnel, Abigail watched a group of influenced humans build the altar necessary for the sacrifice. She had no idea if their work was accurate or why Lucifer was oddly missing from the construction. Whatever distraction pulled him away must be of ubiquitous importance, and she knew it would probably never happen again.
The muffled sobs of Stephanie Westcott were audible, despite the girl’s gag. Her hazel eyes, so like her mother Fran's and brother Phillip's, begged for release. Abigail had known Stephanie since she was a toddler racing through the aisles of her parents’ grocery store.
With a wave of her hand, Dr. Silva veiled the girl from the workers, even though she was sure in their influenced state they would never notice what she was about to do anyway. Placing her finger over her lips, Dr. Silva signaled for the girl to remain silent. She smoothed the dark-brown hair from Stephanie's face and pulled the gag from her mouth.
“I can’t stop what’s going to happen today, Stephanie, but I can stop your suffering.” A thermos appeared in her hand. She screwed off the lid and poured a steaming cup in front of the girl’s reddened eyes. “This is a tea I’ve made. If you drink it, everything will become much easier for you. You won’t feel any pain.”
Stephanie gave a short nod, although tears continued their silent journey down her cheeks. “Will you tell my mother that I love her?” the girl choked out.
Abigail didn't respond, but raised the cup to Stephanie's lips. The girl drank every last drop. Immediately, Stephanie’s eyes glossed over, her tears dried, and her breathing calmed. Abigail made the thermos disappear and replaced the gag. She lowered the veil.
With the sobs abated, the only sounds were of the torches and saws that constructed the altar.