“I know. What you did was amazing. I thought we were both goners.”
“Same here.” Matt stretched out the tightness in his back. “Maybe we still are.”
“Don’t lose your confidence now.” Listener looked up, terrible pain still evident in her eyes. “We must have fallen a thousand feet. I lost my spyglass when I slammed into the wall, so I can’t look to see what’s going on up there.”
Matt followed her line of sight. Dim light shone through the hole’s opening far above. Large raindrops fell down the center of the swirling wind. Smaller droplets were probably swept upward where they combined with others until they were heavy enough to fall through the less-turbulent center. “I don’t think anyone can fly down through that wind. We’ll have to climb.”
“How? The wall is sheer.”
Matt tapped his foot on the rock beneath them. “These protrusions jut out all over the place. They stay for a little while and then close again. This one’s staying put because of our weight. I got a lot of experience while I was carrying Lauren’s body.”
“So you’re hoping to climb up to one above us?” Listener scanned the abyss’s cylindrical enclosure until her gaze stopped at the recess their drawbridge had been concealing before it opened. “Is that a tunnel?”
Matt peered inside. The shallow cave led to a bare wall. “Just a hole. It doesn’t lead anywhere. Darcy and I found a tunnel behind one of those drawbridge rocks, so maybe we’ll find another behind a different one.”
Listener looked up again. “How can you know where and when a drawbridge is going to drop down?”
“You can’t. You just have to watch and wait.” Matt locked his gaze upward. After about twenty seconds, a protrusion dropped down four feet to their right and eight feet above. He could jump and reach it, and Listener probably could if not for her ankle, but reality squashed that possibility. Only two options came to mind—climbing to the top by himself and looking for a rope, or trying to carry her.
A mental image of hauling Lauren down this same abyss returned. That task was so grueling. And this time he would have to climb up. But if he went by himself, what would happen to Listener? Obviously drones wouldn’t fly down this far, but would she be safe sitting here? Would her weight be enough to keep the drawbridge in place?
“I’m going to check something.” Matt rose, leaped to the protrusion above, and grabbed the ledge with both hands. The bridge below began lifting. Listener slid toward the shallow cave. She pivoted and pushed with her good foot to get closer to the end, but her efforts did nothing to slow the rise.
Matt swung his legs back and dropped. His feet struck the angled drawbridge and slid toward Listener. The shift threw him off balance. Teetering, he flailed his arms. Listener lunged, wrapped her arms around his waist, and threw him down to the protrusion’s surface. As the drawbridge rumbled back to its open position, she lay sprawled over his chest and let out a groaning whisper. “Let’s not try that again.”
“No argument from me.” Matt helped her lift off his body and settle on her knees. “Thanks for saving me.”
She winced as she smiled. “My pleasure.”
“More damage to your ankle?”
“I don’t think so. It’s just a constant throb.”
He nodded toward the recess, a cave deep enough to hold at least two people. “If I climb up, you could stay in there. You’ll be fine until I can find a rope and harness.”
“But what if it doesn’t open when you come looking for me? How can you be sure it will ever open again?”
“I can’t be sure.” He crouched low. “All right. Get on my back.”
“On your back? You can’t possibly climb with that much weight.”
“If I can climb this wall carrying a dead person I love, I can certainly do it with a living person I love.” He gestured toward his back with a thumb. “Just trust me and get on.”
The sound of rushing wind reigned for a moment, then Listener squeaked, “Matt?” She brushed tears from her cheeks. “Matt … I trust you … but …”
“But what?”
“Never mind.” She crawled over him and straddled his back. “At least we’ll be together, no matter what happens.”
“We’ll have to work together to survive this.” When he rose, she wrapped her arms around his neck but kept pressure off his throat. “We’re going to jump and try to ride the updraft like we did before. Maybe it will give us a boost.”
“So we jump spread eagle to increase our surface area.”
“Right, but I have no idea how much lift we’ll get, so …” Matt heaved a sigh. “If we drop another thousand feet, we’ll just start over.”
Tightening her leg embrace around him, she leaned over his shoulder and pressed her cheek against his. “I’m ready. Let me know if there’s any way I can help.”
“Just play it by ear. Do whatever you can to help me climb.” Matt raised his arms and leaped. The wind helped but not much. His forearms slapped over the protrusion and caught hold. As Listener’s weight dragged him down, he pulled upward. A spasm knotted one bicep. His hands cramped, and tremors shook his already-weakened body. He growled under his breath, “Giving up … is not an option!”
“Let’s do this.” Listener shifted on his back, grabbed the ledge with both hands, and released him. Now dangling on her own, she shouted, “Swing up! Then help me!”
Matt fought off the pain and swung his legs to the protrusion. After bracing on his knees, he grabbed Listener’s wrists and hauled her to the top of the ledge. When they stood together, they embraced, Listener balancing on one foot. Wind swept through Matt’s clothes and cooled his sweaty body.
He looked up. The opening at the top didn’t seem any closer, still far, far away. That painful ordeal was just one step. How many more would they have to climb? And would each step be within reach?
Listener sat with her legs extended. “Rest, Matt.” She grasped his hand and pulled. “We have time. Who knows? Maybe someone will rescue us.”
“With that battle going on up there?” Matt lowered himself to a cross-legged position. “Did you see all the drones?”
“I saw them.” She took his hand in hers and looked at the wall of the abyss. She stayed quiet for almost a minute before saying, “Thank you.”
Matt lifted his brow. “For what?”
“For what?” Listener turned toward him, her expression incredulous. “Are you serious?”
“Uh … sure. I mean …” He cocked his head. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Matt, are you really so blind to your own courage and chivalry?” She glanced upward briefly. “The Father of Lights as my witness, you’ve been doing nothing but risking your life for me at every turn. You saved me from drowning, you carried me through a freakish ice storm, you slept by a cold window instead of in a comfortable bed, you stayed at my side every possible moment while we trudged through a land covered by ice, you gave your bodily energy to heal my stab wound, and then …” She laughed under her breath, though tears streamed down her cheeks. “Then you dove headfirst into a bottomless pit. Bottomless! The great abyss itself!”
She grasped his wrist. “Matt, you didn’t hesitate. You didn’t for one second think about what might happen to you. You cared only about me. You were ready to die to save me, even though you had no idea how you could do it.”
“Well …” Matt slid his wrist away and regrasped her hand. “Is that so strange? You’re worth dying for.”
Listener lifted his hand and kissed his knuckles, then looked into his eyes. “The last time I kissed a man’s knuckles …” She licked her dry, cracking lips. “It was Timothy. I was hoping to sacrifice myself, but he died for me instead. He took away my corrupted companion and gave me the ability to speak. And now God used your sacrifices to take away my other companion and give me the ability to hear the voice of God. You didn’t die for me, but you were willing to.” She laid a palm on his chest. “When I was that little gir
l who wanted to die, I learned how to measure a man’s heart. Your willingness to sacrifice proves that yours is as big as Earth or Second Eden.”
He let her beautiful words sink in. Without a doubt, she was the most amazing girl he had ever met. “Thank you, Listener. And I think you’re—”
“No.” She set a finger to his lips. “No reciprocation. Just enjoy the gift of heartfelt words.” She pulled the Cracker-Jacks ring from his pinky and slid it onto her ring finger. After gazing at it for a moment, she set her hand on top of his. “I trust that you understand my gesture.”
He looked at the ring—Darcy’s, left behind when she gave her life in Jade’s sanctum. Now it was a symbol of sacrifice, passed on from the giver to the receiver, cheap tin representing pure gold. It meant I am willing to die for you.
Matt whispered, “I understand.”
A drawbridge opened above, this step a somewhat bigger leap than the previous one.
“Well …” Listener angled her head and looked at the new protrusion. “Shall we try for it?”
Matt shifted closer to her. “Let’s have a look at the break.”
She pulled up a pant cuff, revealing a swollen, bruised ankle. “It’s pretty bad.”
“And the pain?”
“Excruciating.” She offered a pain-streaked smile. “But I’m getting used to that.”
“We’ll rest. We have to get stronger for the next step.” He ran a finger lightly over the bruise. “When I get some strength back, I’ll try my healing touch.”
“And if that doesn’t work?”
Matt pulled the pant cuff back down. “The battle up there can’t last forever. Someone will eventually find us. We’ll just hope that a friend finds us first.”
* * *
Bonnie swung Excalibur and slashed at the drone on Billy’s chest. The blade sliced the scaly buzzard in half and left the head and upper body still clinging to Billy’s neck. Using the tip of the blade, she pried its jaws loose and slung its limp corpse away.
As more drones flew toward them, Bonnie summoned the beam and created a protective dome over herself and Billy. The attackers slammed against it, sizzled for a moment, and flew away screeching. She set a finger on Billy’s neck and felt for a pulse. It thrummed erratically. At least he was alive, but for how long?
Near the middle of the field, Clefspeare and Arramos continued clawing, biting, and thrashing. Arramos’s movements seemed slower now. Maybe the battle was finally nearing an end.
A few steps from the dragons, Merlin swung his staff this way and that, smacking drone after drone. At least fifty of the dark monsters covered Makaidos, Thigocia, and Roxil. In their weakened states, they could no longer do battle. Only their scales protected them now.
Closer to Bonnie, Adam lay on the ground, covered with several black beasts, his head and feet the only parts in view. Lauren, shielded by her own dome of fire, ran to him, ignited the drones, and kicked the flaming bodies away one by one.
Now free from any threat by Lauren, Tamiel called out, “Allies of Arramos! To his aid! Attack the white dragon as a group! He cannot fight all of you at once!”
Arramos appeared next to Tamiel and shouted to the drones, “No! I am here! That battle between me and the white dragon is an illusion. It is being staged to lure you to your doom!”
Whipping blades drew Bonnie’s gaze upward. A helicopter hovered about fifty feet overhead. Walter sat in the front, and a young woman with white hair perched on the rear seat, leaning out and pointing some kind of device at the ground. She had to be Jennifer.
“Our real enemy is the helicopter!” the new Arramos continued. “It is preparing to shoot all of you! Attack it immediately!”
As the drones beat their wings and rose, Tamiel shouted, “Very well! Destroy the helicopter! Then return for further orders!”
Jennifer jerked herself inside and closed the hatch. The new Arramos vanished, but the dark horde didn’t seem to notice. As the helicopter backed away over a nearby forest, its machine guns ripped into them with a spray of bullets. Scales flew. Black goo splattered. Drone corpses dropped to the ground by the dozens.
When the shooting ceased, the remaining enemy attackers swarmed the fuselage and beat at the windows with claws and wings. The helicopter spun and flew away with the horde still clinging.
With the drones temporarily out of the way, Bonnie shut off Excalibur. She felt Billy’s neck again—hot and clammy, but the pulse thrummed on. Lauren dragged Adam close. Bonnie embraced her. Warmth radiated from Lauren’s skin and clothes. “The girl in the helicopter is Jennifer,” Lauren whispered. “She’s disguised as Sapphira.”
Bonnie nodded. “I saw Jennifer and her mother in the ovulum.”
As growls and roars from the dragon battle continued, Lauren pulled away from Bonnie. Tears flowed down cheeks and chin. “All three of our dragons are down again, and the man I dragged over here is alive, but he has bites all over.”
“His name is Adam, an old friend.” Bonnie glanced at the trio of dragons lying in deepening puddles of water and blood. “We need a healer, but Matt dove into the abyss—”
“I saw.” Lauren’s eyes closed, but tears seeped out. “Go and see about him. I’ll check the portal. Ashley might be at the birthing garden by now. Maybe we can get some of our wounded out of here.”
Just as Bonnie turned to fly, a loud roar made her stop. At midfield, Clefspeare rammed Arramos into the ground and raked claws across his belly’s vulnerable spot. Dark blood spewed and spilled to the ground. Arramos flailed to free himself, but Clefspeare clamped down on his neck with a rear claw and pinned him.
“Cease fighting!” Clefspeare gasped for breath. “You are defeated!”
As rain continued falling in torrents, Arramos growled. “My horde will return, and they will bring greater numbers. And even if you kill this body, you cannot kill me. I am Lucifer, the most magnificent of all the angels. I will escape this borrowed shell and live on.”
Merlin walked toward Clefspeare, blood smeared across his bearded face. He withdrew the ovulum from a cloak pocket and spoke toward it. “Conquest has been accomplished.” He inhaled a tight, wheezing breath. “If you have finished with your other business, come to the portal site as soon as you can.”
Bonnie flew toward the abyss. No time to ask Merlin about who might be coming. When she arrived, she slid Excalibur behind her belt. As before, wind surged forth in a powerful, swirling updraft that sent water droplets flying out as quickly as they dropped in.
Below, the white strobe still pulsed. She leaned over and squinted. Here and there, rocky projections lowered from the wall, like drawbridges on hinges, while others lifted to a closed position. Could Matt or Listener have fallen onto one of them? Billy had mentioned that these projections led to recesses in the wall. Maybe they could have survived the plunge.
She straightened and took in a deep breath. It was a long shot, but she had to give it a try. “Lord,” she whispered, “catch me in your loving hands.” After collapsing her wings as tightly as possible, she leaped in. The wind caught her body and slowed her fall to a fluttering swirl, as if she were a leaf twirling toward the ground.
As she descended, the flat of Excalibur’s blade whipped against her leg. She reached and held it in place. With each spin around the cylinder, she drew closer and closer to the wall. She extended a wing now and then to turn back toward the center of the spiral.
Within seconds, dizziness took over. She collided with the wall and bounced off. Pain shot into her shoulder. She shook her head hard to clear the fog. Another collision like that might knock her out cold.
Edging closer to the perimeter again, she spread her wings fully, turned her body, and struck the wall with her feet. After pushing off, she battled the wind by opening and closing her wings in short bursts. Every time she opened them, the updraft surged into the canopies and sent a ripping sensation through her mainstays, but being able to control the plunge made the pain w
orthwhile.
Soon, two figures came into view below as they sat on a protrusion. One of them stood and held out his arms. “Mom! Over here!”
Bonnie guided her body that way, folded in her wings, and collided with him. The force sent him sprawling backwards, and they tumbled together into the recess.
“Gotta stop the bridge from closing.” Matt disentangled himself from her and crawled out to the protrusion, now at a slight angle. When he joined Listener at the far end, it lowered into place once more.
Listener extended a hand. “Can you come out here?”
“I think so.” Bonnie shuffled on hands and knees, Excalibur dragging on the stone. When she drew close, she sat in a triangle with them, Matt to her left and Listener to her right. Wind whistled all around, lifting Bonnie’s wings. Pain from the movement made her wince.
Listener touched one of the canopies. “You have tiny rips all over the place.”
“I feel every one of them.” Bonnie looked at Matt and Listener in turn. “Are you two all right?”
“Exhausted.” Matt nodded toward Listener’s leg. “We think her ankle’s broken. I tried healing it a minute ago, but I’m out of gas.”
“We climbed up here from another one of these drawbridges,” Listener said, “but the next higher one is farther up. Besides, it’s closed now, and it hasn’t opened in a while.”
“I could carry you.” Bonnie tested her wings. Each flap ignited a new peal of pain. “Well, maybe one at a time from bridge to bridge.”
Matt shook his head. “Not with the pain you’re in. Even if you could carry us that far, it would take forever. You’d be exhausted before the second bridge. And the person left behind would get stuck behind the protrusion when it closes.”
“You’re probably right.” Bonnie rose. As her legs straightened, Excalibur’s point again dragged on the stone. She withdrew the sword, summoned the blade’s glow, and gazed at the battling dragons etched in the metal. “Let’s see if we can come up with another way to escape.”
CHAPTER 27