Chapter 52
The moment the child emerged into the cavern between worlds, the revolving Sword of Flame stopped spinning and hung utterly motionless, honouring the arrival of the new Cherub. A pure exultant tone that was felt more than heard reverberated through the tunnels. It sounded like fresh ice, golden sunlight and polished crystal all melded into star song.
Crashed senses reeled in overloaded splendour. Awestruck, I stared at the glittering blade, able now to see details that had been impossible to view while it was moving. The graceful weapon was formed from a single piece of the purest white metal, unlike any substance I had ever seen before. It looked more like the heart of a star, or burning magnesium that never stopped glowing. There were markings on the blade but it was way too bright to make out what they were. Perhaps they were a written form of a language that I had spoken and never learnt. Deep appeal summoned deep response. Authority. Justice. Judgement. My soul resonated with the sight, until my attention was tugged away by the feel of lips touching mine.
I kissed Bane back, and he pulled away again.
‘Oh, thank God that worked,’ he breathed. ‘I didn’t know what to try next, but it would have probably hurt us both.’
‘What? I don’t … why is Tessa screaming?’ Her anguish should have been heart-breaking but it was so hard to focus because the dazzling sword was singing to me with shattering brilliance. Its music was the purest form of glory, audible bliss …
Feebly dragging my attention away from its song, I could see Dallmin cradling a tiny body that was limp and purple. That was wrong.
Noah was frozen in place, staring at the sword, as was Annie. They were mesmerised by the sight of the sacred relic while Tess was yelling and Dallmin was shaking Noah’s arm. His son needed him. Urgently. He wasn’t breathing right. I watched in a strangely detached manner as the baby took a shuddering wet breath. Then nothing. A tiny arm twitched, and then nothing again. Something inside me struggled to fight, to find the will to break free from the power that held all the Cherubim in thrall. It felt like I was choosing not to breathe anymore. Ever.
Hurrying over to Noah, I yelled directly into his ear. ‘Hey! Snotface! Move your butt! Your son needs you!’
It was crude enough to break the unleashed sanctity of the sword’s influence. Noah shook his head as if annoyed at the interruption, until one look at Tessa and the baby rushed him back to lucidity. With trembling hands, he took the limp infant from Tessa’s grasp, kissed her full on the lips and then strode across the Event Horizon like a general leading a charge. He glanced back, once, to see if I was coming, but I shook my head and moved to help Dallmin work out what to do with the first-aid supplies so we could help Tessa. By the time I looked up again, the sword was spinning gracefully in the air, wrapped in its golden flames once more, and I just caught sight of Annie as she backed away quietly, away from the fallen world.
‘What’s taking him so long?’ Tessa slurred. She was very pale. The floor of the cave was soaked in blood, yet again. How could such a sacred place be the site of so much death and pain?
At least fifteen minutes had passed since Noah had taken the baby across, and Tessa was struggling to do as she was told and remain still, despite the fact that she was beyond exhausted. Even though she badly needed to rest, she needed her baby first.
Both Bane and Dallmin turned to me. It was clear what they wanted. Rocking back and forth, clutching my knees, I tried to work out why I was suddenly so reluctant to cross over. For so long my soul had yearned to return, to breathe the wild wind and drink the air. It still did, powerfully. That was the problem. What if I became lost there again? It had happened so quickly last time. I remembered deciding to stay in Nalong, to be with Bane. I had made my decision. And yet the moment I had woken, so full of new life, everything I thought I knew had dimmed and faded until I hadn’t even fully grasped what had happened, or what I had lost. I had been home, and couldn’t conceive of being content anywhere else.
Less than an hour ago I’d promised Bane that I wouldn’t forget again, but what if I was wrong? I wanted to be with him, I was sure of that, and yet Eden was home too and I didn’t know how to reconcile my conflicting desires. Bane watched me with eyes full of sympathy and sorrow. He knew.
Just then Tessa let out a stifled cry and I felt Noah and the baby cross back into the world of chocolate and diamond watches and homework. Breathing a deep sigh of relief, I watched the baby’s face screw up as he felt the difference between the sweet air of Paradise and the freezing chill of the cave. He was pink and perfect and wide awake and wrapped in a soft blanket made from the silky fleece of an exotic species of rabbit.
Nathaniel David Ashbree, they named him. A true gift from God. Tessa burst into tears as Noah handed him over. Even Bane looked close to losing it. Without flinching, Dallmin helped Tessa to feed him. That part he clearly had no problems with and it seemed perfectly natural for him to assist. I was incredibly grateful to him because Annie hadn’t come back and I was sure Tess wouldn’t appreciate me using the methods I had used with ewes and lambs in the past.
Finally they were able to sleep. It was a picture I wanted to hold in my heart forever. Watching Noah cradle his wife and son under the soft flickering light of the flaming sword, I decided that the cave was no longer a place of death and blood and burning. The horrendous image of Sarah’s last moments would now always be superseded by the beautiful sight of this new family, bonded by love.