Bella jumped back and used her arms to knock the wolf’s jaw away. It snapped angrily as it went away from its target.
The guard also lunged at Bella, decreasing her odds of getting away.
She jumped back again. The tower was behind her. There was an opening the size of a window. That was her escape route.
Zion threw a rock at the guard, distracting him long enough for Bella to get through the opening. The wolf jumped in right after her.
Fast as lightning, Zion jumped in after the wolf.
As the wild creature pounced at Bella a second time, Zion tackled it from the side. Both wolf and boy landed against the tower wall with a thud.
“Lyaar, stop! The girl means no harm. Return to Gol.”
The wolf moved its head back and forth between Zion and Bella, like it actually understood what the boy had said.
“Return,” Zion repeated.
The wolf snapped in Bella’s direction, but then jumped back through the opening and disappeared.
“What just happened?”
Zion stood and took Bella’s hand. “Come on. We need to hurry.”
“You can talk to wolves?”
Zion led Bella through a maze of rooms and hallways. At some point, they found a stone stairway that led up into the darkness. “In a way, I guess. I’ve been around them since they were pups. I have a special connection with Lyaar. All the other wolves have no problem enforcing Gol’s wishes. Lyaar, on the other hand, seems to question her master’s motives at times.”
Bella followed Zion up the stairs.
“How do you know which one that is? All the wolves look the same to me.”
Zion stopped climbing and looked at Bella. “Lyaar has a small patch of white fur on her back left leg.”
Each step of the way brought Bella more questions than answers.
A group of people, a man and two women, made their way down the stairs. As they passed, one of the women bumped Bella and kept going. The other woman also bumped into her. The man looked at Bella and scowled at her. He said, “Watch where you’re going.”
The three strangers disappeared down the stairs.
“Man, talk about rude.”
Zion resumed climbing the stairs and Bella followed.
“For some reason, the higher up you go in the tower, the more impatient the people become. Sorry.”
“It’s not your fault.” Bella trudged along, following Zion higher and higher up the tower. The city below faded into blurry outlines of buildings and faint dots of people. She definitely felt like she was way higher now than she had been back in Chicago with her family in Willis Tower.
When they reached the next landing, Zion stopped to rest. Bella was secretly glad for the break because the higher up they went, the harder it was to breathe.
After a quick break, the two made their way to the outer walkway. Bella wondered where Gol and his guards had gone. Her attention from following Zion was now diverted to the sky. A mixture of dark clouds and rainbows swirled together in the oddest sight Bella had ever seen.
The temperature dropped. The air picked up speed and made it even harder to breathe.
But breathing soon became a secondary matter, because the world around the tower changed. And the change wasn’t something fun like balloons and butterflies raining down from the sky. No, the change was powerful and intimidating.
The sky illuminated in a brilliant explosion of golds and lemons. Shades of orange and red. Forceful winds kept blowing against the tower, threatening to knock Bella off her feet. She sat down and held on to a heavy boulder that was next to her for support.
Bella saw a figure of a man appear in the clouds. It looked like he wore a long coat that stopped at his feet and had a belt of gold cinched around his chest. She counted seven gold lights that seemed to float in the air above the man’s head. White hair covered his head, and two pools of fire took the place of his eyes. His face was shining like the sun, although it didn’t hurt to stare at him.
His feet seemed to be covered in shiny brass.
What on earth am I looking at?
Who on earth am I looking at?
As bizarre as the scene was, Bella wasn’t afraid. The exact opposite feeling poured over her as she sat there soaking in the vision. This man was the complete opposite of Gol. Where the tower leader was wrapped in darkness, this man was filled with light.
There was no sign of Zion. Maybe he was still close by, but the sky man took all of her attention. Bella felt like her heart was being filled by a greater love than she’d ever known as she watched more of the heavens open.
As she held on to the boulder, Bella heard the sound of powerful rushing water. It appeared that the man was talking, but she couldn’t understand what he was saying. As he spoke, he held out his right hand to reveal seven brilliant stars. And then a sword came out of the man’s mouth as he spoke!
“Bella?”
Was he calling her name?
“Bella, are you okay?”
That’s when her brain registered that it was Zion who was talking.
“Zion, where are you?”
“Over here. To your right.”
Bella blinked. The incredibly insane vision had vanished just as quickly as it had appeared. She saw Zion just a few feet away. “Did you see that?”
“Yes! It was amazing!”
Bella pulled herself up. She stretched out a hand and helped Zion get to his feet.
Zion let go of her hand. “What…who was that?”
Bella brushed off her jeans. Words escaped her. Her whole body buzzed with excitement. She felt energized to keep heading up the tower. She had to make it to the top. Even though she knew how the Bible story ended, Bella felt like God was letting her be a part of this story. She felt a new connection here. God gave her worth, and she had His approval. She had to trust Him.
“Zion, I have a good idea who it was.”
“Who?”
“Come on. I’ll tell you as we go.”