Oracles of Fire, Volume 2
Enoch’s Ghost
Bryan Davis
Enoch’s Ghost
Copyright © 2007 by Bryan Davis
Living Ink Books, an imprint of AMG Publishers
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in printed reviews, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (printed, written, photocopied, visual electronic, audio, or otherwise) without the prior permission of the publisher.
Enoch’s Ghost is the second of four books in the youth fantasy fiction series, Oracles of Fire.
All Scripture quotations, are taken from the King James Version Bible. Public Domain.
Print ISBN: 978-0-89957-871-2
ePub ISBN: 978-1-61715-005-0
Mobi ISBN: 978-1-61715-034-0
DRAGONS IN OUR MIDST and ORACLES OF FIRE are registered trademarks of AMG Publishers.
First printing June 2007
Cover designed by Bright Boy Design, Inc., Chattanooga, Tennessee
Interior design and typesetting by Reider Publishing Services, West Hollywood, California
California
Edited and proofread by Jeff Gerke, Dan Penwell, Rick Steele, and Sharon Neal
Contents
Dedication
Author’s Note
Acknowledgments
Enoch’s Oracle
Prologue
Chapter 1: Return of the Dragon
Chapter 2: Falling
Chapter 3: Elam’s Journey
Chapter 4: The Prism Oracle
Chapter 5: The Other Side of Heaven
Chapter 6: The Endless Staircase
Chapter 7: The Gatekeeper
Chapter 8: The Awakening
Chapter 9: The Bridge
Chapter 10: The Altered Tribe
Chapter 11: The Lake of Fire
Chapter 12: No Escape
Chapter 13: Heart of a Harlot
Chapter 14: Chasing the Light
Chapter 15: The Prophetic Wall
Chapter 16: Heaven’s Shield
Chapter 17: A Tale of Two Daughters
Chapter 18: The New Tower
Chapter 19: The Oldest Memories
Chapter 20: Heaven’s Altar
Chapter 21: The Call of the Cross
Chapter 22: Sacrifices
Chapter 23: Heaven’s Bounty
Chapter 24: Clasping Hands
Other Books by Bryan Davis
Dedication
For every child who fears the darkness, for every father who plunges into the darkness in search of the lost, and for every hero or heroine who carries a flaming beacon that dispels the shadows this story is for you.
Author’s Note
Enoch’s Ghost is the second book in the Oracles of Fire series. It is a sequel to the Dragons in our Midst (DIOM) series and picks up the story where Eye of the Oracle and Tears of a Dragon ended.
Here is how the stories line up in chronological order. The Oracles of Fire series is boldfaced.
Readers who have not delved into Dragons in our Midst or Eye of the Oracle will have no trouble understanding and enjoying Enoch’s Ghost if they read the recap at the end of this book first. This story extends earlier adventures that will lead readers into a multidimensional land, a fascinating journey guided by the Oracles of Fire.
Acknowledgments
To my best friend and biggest fan of all, Susie. Hearing you read my book out loud is one of the blessings of life. With every breath from your lips, you bring life and love to my words and remind me that God has blessed this effort. You are a treasure.
To my AMG family: Dan Penwell, Warren Baker, Rick Steele, Dale Anderson, Trevor Overcash, Joe Suter, and all the staff: even if I were to thank you a million times, it wouldn’t be enough.
As always, I thank God for his Amazing Grace. I once was lost but now am found, was blind, but now I see.
Last, but certainly not least, I thank my departed father for his role in inspiring me to include a powerful theme in this book. Even as he lay on his deathbed, his feeble yet deeply meaningful words ignited an amazing string of miracles. Now I know the meaning behind the twelve people, the ten faithless wanderers, and the two precious copper coins.
Enoch’s Oracle
When fathers, sons, and daughters part,
When hearts are cut and hewn,
No solace can replace the love
No song can bind the wound.
For blood that spills from shredded hearts
Can never be restored
When love is lost, when trust is torn,
When shattered faith is poured.
Will pride forever break the bond
Of love that spawned a birth?
Will memories of death be lost
When life sprouts new from earth?
O what will soothe betrayal’s pain
And what will smooth the scar?
Can sacrificial blood rain down
The healing from afar?
A witness goes to spy the land
With nine more flaunting pride,
But giants seize their quaking hearts,
And faith is cast aside.
Yet two bear witness to the truth;
They trust in God afresh
To catch their souls and take them home
Should giants slay their flesh.
These giants born of demons’ seed
Will cast a net to snare
The holy city high above
And snatch it from the air.
O who will stand within the gap,
And who will sacrifice?
O who will bleed for love alone,
And who will pay the price?
A widow lays her copper coins,
Two mites, her treasure store,
While hypocrites parade their gifts,
Mere sweepings from their floor.
The humble gift restores anew
The hope when life began,
When fathers, sons, and daughters clasp
Their hands of love again.
But will the daughters take the gift
Of coppers from the king,
The wounds that pour his saving blood
To heal the family ring?
Prologue
The great dragon’s eyes glowed with bloodred luminescence, and his voice rumbled like distant thunder. “Mardon, the time is short. When will the giants awaken to bring about our final victory?”
“Soon, very soon.” Standing on the edge of a precipice, Mardon held a shining rope of gold, as taut as a harp string and almost as slender. It stretched across a chasm that lay before him, the canyon path of a magma river far below. A mere stone’s throw away, a nebulous figure held to the golden line from another precipice, too far to detect any features of form or face. The barest of glows emanated from the slow-moving river, casting reddish light and illuminating the rutted walls and jagged ceiling of their underground cavern.
“Sapphira’s latest use of her power,” Mardon continued, “has allowed me to draw Earth and Hades so close, only a mere thread of dimensional space separates them. A few more pulls should bind them as one. Even then, I cannot guess how perfectly the two dimensions will combine. The dead souls should eventually become as they were when they were alive, but we might have to wait for the merged realms to reach a state of equilibrium before everything settles.” He strained against the line again, letting out an almost inaudible grunt. “That’s why the synchronization has to be precise. The realms must not touch until the timers are ready to expire and the escape route for our giants is complete.”
The dragon beat its wings and joined Mardon at the edge of the cha
sm. “Leave the escape route to me. The giants will need to loosen their muscles after such a lengthy nap, so I envision a staircase that will lead them to the light.”
Mardon pulled the line, drawing the other precipice a few inches closer. With every painstaking inch, the ground trembled, raising the crunching complaint of stone grinding against stone. “An excellent idea,” he said. “Many steps to strengthen their resolve … and their anger.”
“And then our next step.”
“The greatest step. When I finish creating my tower to draw Heaven down to Earth, my plan will be complete.”
“Your plan?” The dragon’s eyes blazed. “I sowed the seeds of this plan long before you were born, the seeds of Eden that I gave to Samyaza’s wench, Lilith. It was she who first cultivated the Nephilim. You merely took her place in my grand scheme.”
Mardon averted his eyes and focused on the narrowing chasm. “I see. Morgan never told me where the seedlings came from.”
“Giving credit to others was not in her nature.”
“True enough.” Mardon turned back to the dragon. “I am therefore pleased to give you credit. When Heaven meets Earth, and I am installed as the mediator of the final covenant, you will be a chief prince.”
The dragon flashed an odd smile, toothy enough to be menacing, yet it carried a hint of amusement. “Beware of overconfidence. There are forces, human forces, that can stop us.”
Mardon shook his head. “Sapphira’s power is insufficient without her sister, and no one has seen Acacia in years.”
“Do not underestimate an Oracle of Fire. You consider Sapphira a mere seedling who has outgrown her pot, but she is far more powerful. She has already meddled in too many of my affairs for my liking.”
“Trying to kill Sapphira is dangerous,” Mardon said. “It means death to any who shed her blood.”
“We need not kill her as long as she remains ignorant.” The dragon raised his head and looked into the cavern’s dim upper recesses. “Yet, there is another who could ruin our plans. She is capable of discerning the meaning of your need for building a vortex connection between Heaven and Earth.”
“Thigocia’s child?” Mardon laid a hand on his head. “I have forgotten her name.”
“Ashley Stalworth. If she alerts her mother, then all is lost.”
Mardon pulled again. The rope vibrated, shaking off golden sparks that floated into the chasm. “Do you have a remedy?”
“Divide and conquer. While you build your tower, I will deal with Thigocia.”
“And what of Ashley?”
The dragon’s eyes flashed once more, this time with a glow of triumph. “For now, she is under my control. Fear has kept her from the light, and I intend to keep it that way.”
Chapter 1
Return of the Dragon
Dragon riding isn’t all it’s cracked up to be,” Ashley grumbled. As she retied her hood, a thick cloud bank enveloped her in white mist, dampening her coat sleeves and drawing a shiver from her chilled arms. She clutched Thigocia’s protruding spine with a gloved hand and slid forward, ducking under the streaming fog as she reseated herself. Wearing long underwear and thick denim jeans turned out to be a lifesaver. After over a thousand miles of flying, dragon scales felt like broken concrete under her backside.
She lifted the GPS locator in her palm and brushed a layer of mist from the display with her thumb. On the playing-card-sized monitor, a red dot pulsed in the middle of a blue splotch on the map. Each beat of Thigocia’s enormous wings jostled the screen, but she managed to hold the unit steady enough to figure out their ground position as they flew a few thousand feet above Montana’s highlands.
She swung her head around to the pair of teenaged passengers seated behind her and shouted through the whistling wind, “I think we’re right over Flathead Lake!”
Thigocia dropped suddenly through an air pocket.
“Whoa!” Ashley yelled, squeezing her legs tightly around the dragon’s neck.
Finally, Thigocia caught stable air with her powerful wings. “Sorry about that!”
“No problem,” Karen shouted. “I lost my breakfast an hour ago!”
Walter pulled down the bill of his baseball cap and regripped the spine between him and Ashley. Scrunching his thick, wet eyebrows, he peered down into the blanket of clouds. “Any sign of attack jets coming to greet us?”
“No worries.” Ashley rubbed the dragon’s thick hide, still yelling to overcome the roar. “Thigocia’s scales would skew the radar echoes. She probably looks like a wandering albatross on the screen.”
Karen, sitting behind Walter, the wind whipping her dampened red hair around her freckled face, pulled on his sleeve. “We’re more likely to see gawking bird watchers than attack jets.”
“Too bad. I was kind of hoping to get a jet to follow us.” Walter leaned to the side and pointed past Thigocia’s swinging tail. “Can you imagine how a pilot’s eyes would bug out if he came up behind us and”
“Hey! Not so far!” Karen grabbed Walter’s back scabbard and pulled him upright. “I only have you to hold onto.”
Ashley pressed the GPS unit against her chest. “Walter! Don’t scare us like that!”
“Sorry.” Walter’s blue eyes sparkled, and a wide grin spread across his boyish face. “I guess I’m not cut out to be an albatross.”
Rolling her eyes, Ashley turned her attention back to the locator. After flying so far, mostly in the middle of the night, and having to endure Walter’s never-ending jokes and Karen’s constant fretting over his safety, it was time to get their feet back on the ground for good. Yet, even at ground level, life had been a pain—drinking water from streams, eating berries and nuts as well as wild game Thigocia would capture and cook, and wearing the same clothes for days on end. Everyone was ready for a change.
Walter sighed. “So how far is it to the mountain?”
“We’re coming up from the south on this path,” Ashley said, tracing a line on the grid with her finger, “so, if we don’t have to take a detour to stay in the clouds, we’ll probably get there in about ten minutes.”
Walter leaned into the beating wind. “All I heard was ‘ten minutes.’”
“Right!” Ashley said, raising her voice to compete with the strengthening gale. “Give or take a minute!”
“Good!” Karen blew a strand of hair from her brow. “I’m getting soaked.”
Bending her long, scaly neck, Thigocia brought her head close to her riders. Thin strings of smoke swirled away from her flared nostrils. “When we get there, I will give you the Sahara treatment. You will be warm and dry in no time.”
“Unless it’s raining,” Walter added.
Karen shivered and slid closer to Walter. “Or snowing.”
Ashley tapped her jaw with her fingers and spoke into the breeze. “Larry, what’s the weather forecast for the Flathead Lake area in Montana?”
A computerized voice hummed through Ashley’s tooth-embedded transmitter. “Cloudy and cool today, high in the fifties. Rain changing to freezing rain tonight, low in the thirties.”
“Not good.” Ashley pulled a soaked tissue from her jacket and wiped her nose. “I hope we can find shelter, or we’ll all die of pneumonia.”
“An excellent suggestion, O daughter of a dragon. The official forecast calls for a sixty percent chance of precipitation, but that seems low to me. Based on the satellite presentation, I calculate a sixty-three-point-seven percent probability. On a scale”
“No!” Ashley shouted. “Not another dragon scale joke!”
“Your mind-reading capabilities are working perfectly, O maiden of the mailed membrane. On a scale of one to ten, your mental perception rates a nine point two.”
“I don’t read minds!” Ashley moaned.
Walter laughed. “Good one, Larry. You slipped in your scale joke anyway.”
Ashley swung her head toward Walter. “You heard him?”
“Barely. It sounds
like a buzz coming from your ears, like the highest note in a bumblebee choir’s scale.”
“Cool!” Karen chirped. “Another scale joke!”
“Walter! Cut it out!” Ashley scowled at the GPS unit. “It’s a good thing we’re almost there. Another night of this craziness and I’d be ready to check into Arlo’s mental hospital.”
Karen reached over Walter and patted Ashley on the back. “Well, they do have a vacancy now that we sprang Arlo, but you probably wouldn’t get any treatment. Thigocia scared the workers so bad with that blast of flames, I don’t think they’ll ever come back.”
“Yeah,” Walter agreed. “I guess you could say Thigocia fired them!”
Walter and Karen gave each other a high five, while Ashley just shook her head and groaned. When Walter and Karen finally stopped laughing, Ashley called out to Thigocia. “Mother! Get ready to descend!”
Thigocia curled her neck back again. “Ashley, I am not a dog to be commanded. A bit of courtesy is always appropriate when addressing your elders.”
Walter whispered into Ashley’s ear. “And your mom is about as elder as you can get.”
“Speaking of courtesy … ,” Ashley whispered back, glaring at Walter. She rubbed the dragon’s neck scales and sighed. “I’m sorry, Mother. It’s just that five days of flying with these characters has made me crawl right to the edge of sanity.”
“I fell over the edge,” Karen said.
“I jumped,” Walter added. “And I can’t seem to climb back up.”
Thigocia’s scaly brow wrinkled sympathetically. “We are all tired, but we will soon be able to rest without fear of being discovered. The mountain site is remote enough for us to remain in hiding, but we will have to descend quickly in order to keep our approach a secret.”
“Bring it on!” Walter pushed his cap tightly over his head. “Riding a dragon roller coaster in the daylight sure beats all the slow night flying we’ve been doing.”