While the others changed into the best clothes they’d brought, and prepared in their own way to say goodbye, Jacob crept into the kitchen and pulled up a stool next to Abigail’s body. His only audience was Cord, who was still passed out behind the bars of the pantry. Jacob guessed he’d be out for a while. Half his head was bashed in, although the bleeding had stopped and the bones showed signs of healing.
Reaching under the sheet, he felt for Abigail’s hand. Ice cold and stiff. He let go. With a heavy heart, he peeled back the sheet from her face. Dead. Gray. His eyes focused on the cross she still wore, the one he and Malini had given to her on her wedding day. She never took it off when she was alive, and now she never would. He returned the sheet to its place and then rested his hands on his thighs. She wasn’t in there anymore. This was an empty shell.
“Abigail,” he whispered, “wherever you are, I want to say something to you.” Jacob clasped his hands together. “I am completely pissed at you and Gideon for getting yourselves killed. I mean, what the hell? All you had to do was ask me to get whatever you needed. Why did you go out there alone? What were you thinking? That’s what pisses me off the most. You never explained. You just left. And now we have two less Helpers and two more bodies to bury. You suck, Dr. Silva.” Fat, wet, drops fell like rain between his elbows. Tears. Arms shaking, he didn’t bother wiping them away.
“You suck for leaving us,” Jacob said again. “But I forgive you. Because even though I know you were invincible and could stop a train with that look of yours, I know there must have been a reason you allowed that Watcher to hurt you. You would have never left your baby if you had a choice.
“I’ve been thinking that maybe you wanted us to have Hope. She must have meant everything to you. You and Gideon died protecting her. That must’ve been the reason. Somehow, you ended up in that position and gave your lives for the greater good. That’s the only way this makes sense. Just like last summer, when you died on Lucifer’s altar. You didn’t have to do that either.”
Jacob sat up and wiped under his eyes. Now for the hard part. The thing he wanted to say the most but would hurt the most. “Thank you for being there for me. I was just an angry little runt when you took me under your wing. And yeah, we hurt each other and stuff a few times. I think I still have bruises on my neck from when you thought I left the gate open. But I always knew I could count on you. You saved me. More than once.
“I’m not sure how to make it up to you now that you’re gone except to live the life you wanted me to live, being the best Soulkeeper I can be. Oh, and taking care of Hope. We all will. Don’t you worry.”
He sat up and straightened his shirt. “And I guess this isn’t really goodbye, is it? It’s more like see you later. Some days I think it might be sooner than later the way this battle is going. Enjoy Heaven, Abigail. You’ve earned it.”
Jacob stood from the stool, took one last look at the sheet, and let her go. He walked into the main room with the slightest feeling of peace in his heart.
It lasted less than sixty seconds.
“Oh, good,” Malini said, heading for him. “Hold Hope so I can get ready.” She placed the baby in his arms and handed him a bottle of formula.
“Wait, I don’t know how—” Yeah, she was gone, and he was left holding the baby in the crook of his arm. He repositioned her and took a better look. She had a thin layer of light brown hair, more like Gideon’s than Abigail’s. But Hope’s eyes were her mother’s. Jacob smiled at the ice blue color, remembering the first time he’d seen it, hovering outside his bedroom window. That color had scared the bejesus out of him back then and was doing a good job of it now.
Hope’s tiny face bunched up and turned red. Her rose petal mouth opened. “Waa. Waa. Waaaaa!” Short bursts of angry protest.
“I think she’s hungry, Jacob,” Grace said, pointing at the bottle.
Jacob looked at the older woman, slack-jawed, and gestured for her to take the baby. Grace shook her head and walked away. The crying continued until he plugged Hope’s pink, bow-shaped lips with the nipple. She sucked greedily.
“You have a good appetite,” he whispered, smiling at the way she closed her eyes and wrinkled her nose while she drank.
Lillian appeared by his side, placing her hand under his elbow and lifting. “Keep her head up or she’ll get a tummy ache from gas.”
Jacob adjusted Hope’s position and raised his eyebrows.
“And you need to burp her every few minutes.” His mom made cooing sounds at Hope. “I can take her if you want.”
Jacob removed the nipple from Hope’s mouth and repositioned her on his shoulder, patting her back like he’d seen Bonnie do. “No. I think I’ve got it under control, Mom.”
She grinned. “Yes, I believe you do.”
Just before noon, Ghost, Dane, and Ethan brought down two slabs of wood from the old church, the seats of broken pews. Lillian and Malini loaded Abigail’s body onto one and the other was taken to the rectory to accommodate Gideon. Bonnie took Hope, now fully fed and sleeping peacefully, so that Jacob, Dane, Malini, and Lillian could serve as pallbearers. The four lifted Abigail’s body onto their shoulders and carried her to the graveyard. Ethan, Ghost, Grace, and Samantha met them at the gravesite, Gideon’s body on their shoulders. Cheveyo brought up the rear of the processional, carrying a dagger wrapped in silk that had belonged to Master Lee.
Ethan used his power to lower Abigail, then Gideon into the holes he and Dane had dug. Once the bodies were settled, Cheveyo laid the dagger in the smaller hole next to Gideon.
Three carved pieces of wood served as markers. They did not bear the Soulkeepers’ names. To do so would be inviting desecration. Instead, Lillian had used her knife skills to carve ornate patterns into the oak. Abigail’s marker depicted a mighty tree with twisted branches that bore strange but weighty fruit. The focal point of Gideon’s was the sun with beams of light over a set of outstretched wings. Lee’s was a twisting dragon around the Chinese symbol for warrior.
Father Raymond stepped forward to the edges of the grave. “Let us commend Abigail and Gideon Newman, and Confucius Lee to the mercy of God.”
Jacob turned to Lillian as Father Raymond continued to speak. “Was that his real name? Confucius?”
“He always thought it was too formal,” Lillian whispered. “He once told me and the other student in the dojo to call him Bob.”
“You guys were close. How are you doing with all of this?” Jacob asked.
Lillian pressed her lips together before answering. “Before I was taken, we celebrated Lee’s eighty-fifth birthday. I guess I always knew he was on borrowed time. This is how he would have wanted to go. He held the passageway open so that all of us could get out. He died a hero and a warrior. No better way to go, if you ask me.”
Jacob nodded and refocused on Father Raymond.
“We therefore commit Abigail, Gideon, and Master Lee’s bodies to the ground; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust; in the sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life." Father Raymond motioned to Ethan who filled in the holes over the bodies and Master Lee’s weapon. “Would anyone like to say a few words?”
Malini walked to the front of the graves and unfolded a piece of paper from her pocket. With a deep breath, she began to read.
“Today, the birds fall silent
and the sun refuses to shine.
The grass below lies dormant.
Lost these friends of mine.
Every head does bow
and darkness presses in,
the water slows and stills
a new phase does begin.
They say the world is turning.
I’m not sure I can agree.
The sadness of your leaving
seems its own eternity.
In time we will move on
with the work you have begun.
We’ll recover from this loss
and ignite the fading sun.
But today the rain does fall,
and creeps in the chill of night.
The loss of you reigns on
Goodbye …
my friends
my warriors
my confidants
until we meet again.”
Malini returned to her place by Jacob’s side while the other Soulkeepers shifted uneasily, wiping icy tears and sniffing cold noses.
“That was beautiful. Did you write that yourself?” Jacob asked.
“Shhh.”
“And now, Bonnie and Samantha Guillian have offered to sing.” Father Raymond moved aside and the twins took their spot at the front of the group. The snow picked up again, creating a mystical backdrop to the twins’ red hair. The two shrugged out of their coats and handed them to Ghost.
The two girls wore identical purple dresses with silver ballet flats, their fiery red hair cascading in loose waves across their shoulders. Gracefully, they began to circle each other, dancing in mirror image, a lyrical, sweeping ballet. Within the wave of pointed toes, arched backs, and swirling arms, Bonnie began to sing in a low and hollow voice that seemed to come from somewhere other than her petite frame. “When peace like a river, attendeth my way.”
Samantha followed with, “When sorrow like sea billows roll.”
“Whatever my lot, thou has taught me to know.” Bonnie twirled and reached for her sister.
“It is well, it is well, with my soul,” they both sang together.
Even Jacob knew this song. It Is Well With My Soul by Horatio Spafford. They sang it often at the Laudners’ church. The meaning wasn’t lost on him. He’d heard that the author had written the hymn after losing everything.
As the twins continued the hymn, Jacob caught himself drifting. He listened with his Soulkeeper ears, expecting the Watchers to attack at any moment. With Cord locked up downstairs, how long until they attacked? For all he knew, they could be tracking the Watcher right now.
Reality hit him like a blunt fist. They’d lost Eden! Lucifer could sense any of their souls if he wanted to, or demand their astral-projected presence as he had Malini’s. Why hadn’t he? Suddenly, the thought that they hadn’t been discovered seemed impossible. Were they all on borrowed time?
He squeezed his eyes shut. He couldn’t think that way. He needed to trust that God led them here for a reason and that everything was unfolding as it should, a tall order considering. With a sigh, he opened his eyes.
The twins finished the hymn and joined hands, using their power to form first into the image of Master Lee, then Gideon, and then Abigail. The waterworks started again when he saw Abigail. He wasn’t embarrassed though. There wasn’t a dry eye in the crowd. Even Hope, snuggled on Grace’s shoulder, began to fuss.
Bonnie and Samantha ended their tribute, transforming into themselves again and returned to their places among the other Soulkeepers. Father Raymond, in a state of amazement after watching the twins, shook off his awestruck stupor to say one final prayer before dismissing them. In silence, the group trudged toward the rectory, shoulders slumped and faces drawn.
Malini stopped Jacob as they reached the threshold, allowing the others to go on ahead. “I don’t think I can stand to lose anyone else, Jacob.”
He wrapped his arms around her. “Then let’s do our best to make sure this never happens again. Lucifer doesn’t know what he’s started here. When you push the Soulkeepers, they push back.”
In the circle of his arms, Malini stiffened. Tipping her face up, she gritted her teeth. “You are right about that, Jacob. We will fight back, and Lucifer has no idea what he’s in for.”