“Dispose of Miss Goody Four Paws!” Ebb addressed the Brotherhood with a nod toward Leana, who stood trapped in a mindless stupor.
“Kill her?” one of the men questioned.
“Yes. If that is too much for you, I have a more creative solution: turn her over to a biology lab or university. I know several professors and biologists who recognize no god other than themselves. I am sure they would enjoy the chance to cut her open. After all, my master added senseless killing to the scientific method,” Ebb replied impatiently.
“No!” Pilate roared as he lunged at Ebb, knocking her to the ground. Pilate had not felt that he was emotionally up to being able to help his new friends protect the church, but he was not about to let Ebb hurt anyone else.
“You?” Ebb snarled indignantly as she fought to keep Pilate at bay. During the time of Pilate’s darkness, he had served Ebb as one of her lieutenants. When he came to himself, having been healed, his allegiance to her ended forever; but his knowledge of her and her methods was very much alive. Even though Pilate’s insight came to him through vague flashbacks, it made him a very formidable adversary, no matter what form Ebb took in an effort to deceive her victims.
CHAPTER 41
Seeing that Leana was still in a trance, the cult members quickly attempted to sneak away. However, before they could escape from the corner in which Leana had them penned, Cheshire streaked out of the twilight-shrouded tree line, sending them back toward the corner. Before retreating, one of the group hit Leana over the head. Leana, who was still woozy, staggered; but she managed to maintain her balance. After attending to his prisoners and Leana, Cheshire glanced over at Pilate and the cougar whom he was fighting.
“What is that?” Cheshire exclaimed after seeing Ebb’s pupil-less eyes and her imitation of himself.
“She is one of the Dragon’s commanders,” Pilate shouted, “an expert in the art of deception. She uses substances to control her victims as often as possible.”
“Wolf your days were numbered before this defiance! You and the female have lived by grace far too long! When I am free you shall die and she will follow!” Ebb snarled wildly as she struggled in vain to escape Pilate.
Ebb had not imagined that Pilate would dare stand up to her especially when she had taken the form of a creature that could easily destroy him. He had been such a sniveling little wimp before her dark influence. Not understanding the nature of true healing, it was only natural that Ebb would deceive herself unintentionally as she compared him as he was today to the dark and savage warrior that he had been before. The meaning of true strength completely escaped Ebb as it did all of the Dragon’s minions. Now Pilate stood over her, keeping her pressed into the enemy’s turf, and she was powerless to fight back.
The sound of footsteps and the swaying of a flashlight beam announced Father Peterson’s arrival.
“I called the police,” the priest announced after passing his flashlight over the captured cult members. He brought the light to rest on Pilate and Ebb. The sight of the priest caused Ebb to panic. In one frantic motion Ebb planted all four paws against Pilate and kicked. Pilate flew back, landing on Father Peterson and knocking them both to the ground. Meanwhile Ebb bolted toward the dark tree line. She was so terror stricken that she ran straight into Leana and did not stop until she was in the woods safely out of reach. Leana drunkenly staggered and swayed in an attempt to keep her balance.
“Remember your fear next time you want to hurt somebody!” Pilate called after Ebb while trying to catch his breath.
CHAPTER 42
Standing between Leana and their prisoners, Cheshire was caught between his duty as a servant of the Lamb and his duty as a friend. Chesh wanted to help Leana, but he had to keep an eye on these humans that served the Dragon. What frustrated Cheshire even further was the fact that he did not know how to help Leana. All he could do is watch as Father Peterson and Pilate examined Leana.
“Will she get better?” Chesh asked, visibly concerned about his friend.
“She’ll be fine in a few hours. I would imagine that she is pretty scared, though,” Pilate replied.
“Scared? How can you tell? Her expression is vacant. Even her eyes look vacant. That has ME scared.”
“Your friend is currently a prisoner in her own mind. She can hear and see everything, but she can do nothing to help herself. I’d say she is probably terrified,” Pilate explained.
Thinking that Cheshire was distracted, several of the cult members tried to sneak away. A snarl from Cheshire quickly reminded them that they had not been forgotten.
“It’s because of slitherlings like you that this has happened. Don’t tempt me to deal with you,” he rumbled.
“Let’s make a deal,” one of the men offered after working up enough courage to speak.
“I don’t make deals with slitherlings,” Chesh hissed.
“OK. We’ll be famous when we turn you over to the police. After all, that’s why we came here,” the man continued after pondering Ebb’s words.
“Liar! We all know why you came here!” Chesh spat.
“So you will tell the authorities that two talking mountain lions and a wolf trapped you here? They will have you committed,” Father Peterson interjected.
“You would lie for them, Priest?” the man asked.
“These animals are guests of this parish and can claim sanctuary. You, however, are trespassers who have no right or claim to anything here.”
The night grew darker as the moon and stars were hidden by dark clouds. Violent gusts of wind howled around the steeple and caused the bell to ring uncontrollably. Lightning raced across the horizon and illuminated the earth below. Moments later a glowing green orb formed around Leana. Seconds later she vanished. Cheshire squinted and stared into the light searching for his friend. Now more than ever he wanted to not be guarding the humans.
Pilate knew that the light was a portal to Evermore and it would not be there long, but as much as he wanted to go home he also knew that Cheshire needed to get to Leana before the portal closed.
“I’ll take over. I have to finish my penance. Go!” Pilate shouted to Cheshire over the tempest. Cheshire nodded gratefully and took a few steps toward the portal.
“Father, Pilate, it has been an honor. Thank John and David for us,” Cheshire called over his shoulder and leapt into the orb, disappearing in a bright flash. The portal vanished and the winds subsided just as two trucks with flashing lights arrived on the church property.
“When the Officers take statements about what happened here tonight, it is going to be a circus after they learn the truth,” Father Peterson commented as he watched men in uniform exit the trucks and start toward them.
“True, but humans are so used to dealing in lies that they seldom understand complete truth or the promise of eternity,” Pilate commented with a shrug.
****
Ebb had fled to the shadows to wait for the priest to leave. She would have waited as long as it took to claim her prize. The female cougar would have been hers had it not been for her enemy. The Divine Master had sent a portal to protect his servants. Exposed to the Divine Creator’s power Ebb’s illusion dissolved and she was once again herself. She quickly fled before worse could happen to her.
As she ran Ebb came across a group of soldiers who were walking toward the church. The men were dressed in full battle gear and quickly focused their lights on her. Ebb sensed the weakest soul and leapt onto the soldier that it belonged to. The soldier stumbled backwards and hit the ground. The others quickly surrounded Ebb and her victim. The soldiers struck Ebb and did their best to try and detach her.
“ You will be mine.” Ebb cackled.
“Get her off!” Ebb’s victim shrieked in terror.
“You have never believed in anything have you? Now you can believe in me. You can serve me,” she continued undaunted by her attackers.
“Chaplain!” the soldier cried.
“Captain!” another called out.
>
Captain Carpenter who had been ahead of the group fell back to where the unit now stood over a flailing soldier who had a gargoyle like creature attached to him. Several soldiers were hitting the creature with shovels while a third used his knife. The creature’s hide seemed immune to attack.
“It want’s my soul.” the man on the ground shouted.
Carpenter quickly dropped to a knee and placed his hands on the creature’s back. The creature’s skin felt like stone, yet it was flexible.
“Where are you from? Are you an alien?” Carpenter demanded. Hearing his question the creature glanced back at him.
“Me an alien? Fool! I have been here since the fall,” The creature replied smugly. "Leave me to my prey,” she added.
“I see.” Carpenter replied. He then bowed his head. Seeing this, the creature released her victim and attempted to escape the Captain’s grip.
“ In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost I demand that you leave” Carpenter prayed and the creature vanished.
CHAPTER 43
The normally tranquil breeze over Trinity Pond grew into violent gusts and whistling squalls that drove every creature into the shelter of the forest. With a flash the portal ricocheted Leana across the pond, sending her to rest among the cat-tails in the shallows near the water’s edge. In a second flash, it dumped Cheshire six feet from the shore and then vanished, leaving both cougars soaked and disoriented.
After surfacing with a sputter, Cheshire began calling for Leana while he frantically searched the area. He found her lying dazed in the shallows with her head resting precariously above water level, supported by the cat-tails. Seeing that Leana was alive, Chesh breathed a sigh of relief and allowed himself to relax.
“Leana?” he spoke softly between gentle taps on her shoulder.
Leana’s only response was a moan and an attempt to roll over toward the water. Cheshire quickly grabbed the nape of her neck and held her head above water level.
“K-aaaws and wispers,” Cheshire mumbled, unable to speak because his mouth was occupied with keeping Leana above water level. Dragging her to shore without hurting her was going to be a challenge.
****
After dragging Leana to the shore, Cheshire sat down and waited for Ebb’s trance to wear off. Leana lay on her side, seemingly lifeless. On occasion she would blink, but from her blank expression it was hard to tell whether she would improve or not. All Chesh could do was to pray, and pray he did. He prayed for his friend to awaken from this demon-induced sleep.
“It’s my turn to repay the kindness you showed me when I was hurt. I only wish I knew what to do,” he confessed humbly.
After an hour passed, Cheshire noticed that Leana’s expression had changed and that her eyes looked more alert. A short while later Chesh thought he saw a movement. Seconds later Leana awakened with a jerk and a scream of terror. The intensity of the scream caused Cheshire to cringe.
“Cheshire!” she bawled.
“It’s okay! We’re home!” Chesh offered comfort.
“It was awful! I lost control of my body! That other cat cursed me and was going to have them kill me. That other cat was you,” Lea rambled.
“Lea?”
“Stay back!” she cried out when Cheshire started toward her. “How do I know which Cheshire you are?” she added. Leana had witnessed everything, but she was still disoriented.
“I am the Cheshire you grew up with. The one that would never hurt you. The one that saved you in the pond.”
“I hurt so badly. Every muscle aches,” Lea moaned. Hearing this Chesh walked up to her and began to knead the muscles in her shoulders. Leana had been fearful at first, but seemed to have calmed down.
“It’s my turn to be the nurse,”
“You did say that, didn’t you? It wasn’t a dream!” Lea sighed.
When she had fully recovered, Cheshire filled her in about what had happened on earth while she was Ebb’s prisoner. Cheshire then started toward the forest, nodding for Leana to follow him.
“You are a lot heavier than you look,” Cheshire commented, having experienced Leana’s dead weight when she had been unconscious. “You look so dainty and petite.”
“Oh! Don’t say anything until the rest of me stops hurting,” Leana moaned between footsteps. Leana was moving along with very slow steps, as each step jarred her and brought on additional pain. It felt like every muscle in her body had locked at once. Every step brought on pain from stiff muscles.
“Feeling better?” Cheshire asked, stopping every few yards for Leana to catch up.
“I’m wet, sore, and never want to smell lavender again…But the more I move the better I feel,” Leana answered with a tired smile.
“We don’t have to go much further. We are almost at the Council Chamber,” Cheshire said in an attempt to offer encouragement to his friend.
Instead of making her feel better, Cheshire’s statement only seemed to bring sadness to Leana. With the thought of entering the Council Chamber again and the uncertainty that this brought, Leana found herself beginning to fall victim to her fear again.
“Am I out?” she asked in a heavy-hearted tone.
“Of course not. We need to plan how to deal with our problem.”
“Thank you,” Leana responded with a smile that brightened her whole face.
CHAPTER 44
Griffin had watched Thorson’s failure on earth with great disgust. The only positive parts of the campaign that he could see had been that Jeremiah had been deceived, the Cougar Clan had been upset, and Thorson and Ebb would be punished for their failures, not him.
“You know that failure is not accepted, no matter how much you grovel!” Griffin bellowed at Thorson, who stood before his throne marred and annoyed.
“I grovel to no one! I’m here reporting as expected!” Thorson snapped. Griffin met Thorson’s defiant glare by stepping down from his pedestal and getting in his face.
“You should have known that unlike us they value integrity. Where was the power you received from your deception? She confessed and freed them both. You are lucky that cougar did not rip you apart!”
“Those two pests are of little concern. I can still manipulate Jeremiah. His ego is ripe and ready to be used. I will finish this in our favor!” Thorson replied in a defiant tone.
“You had better! If you fail, the Dragon will make you beg for mercy; and that is in short supply where he is!” Griffin snorted. He walked away, thus signaling that Thorson’s audience had come to an end.
CHAPTER 45
Ever since Cheshire and Leana had disappeared, Michael Shepherd had searched the forest by day and prayed for his friends by night. He had arisen early and was on his way to check with the cougars’ search party when something on the trail caught his eye.
“Those weren’t there yesterday,” he thought to himself as he examined two sets of feline paw prints. Wanting to be certain that they were indeed fresh, Michael closed his eyes and started to examine the tracks with his nose. The tracks were indeed fresh. In fact, they belonged to Cheshire and Leana. After opening his eyes and looking in the direction that the tracks lead, he discovered that a falcon had landed and was watching him from his perch on a nearby log.
“Michael, there is some fresh breakage by the pond,” the falcon reported in an accent similar to the Shepherd’s own.
“Thank you, Hastings. But by the smell of this I believe the hunt is over,” Michael replied with an expression of relief.
“Shall I spread the happy news or keep it?” Hastings asked and looked eagerly to Michael for a reply.
“Until we have weighed all the facts around their disappearance, this good news should be kept between us. We do not want to further jeopardize their lives.”
From there Michael and Hastings followed the tracks to the Council Chamber. In the chamber they found Cheshire and Leana resting peacefully. The area in which the Council meets is a large sandstone cavern hidden behind a waterfall which shields
it from the weather and from easy detection. The waterfall supplies cool air and acts as a grand entrance to the Council Chamber. At all times it has an aura of peace within its walls, and over time it had become a haven for Council Members in times of need. Here they could rest and recover, and here they could meet and together make plans for the future.
“Cheshire! Leana! It’s good to see you home again.” Michael exclaimed, visibly overjoyed at their return.
“Michael! You are just who we wanted to see!” Cheshire said after standing to greet him.
Before Cheshire could continue, he found himself being bombarded with questions about what had happened and where they had been.
“That can wait. There is something more pressing that has to be dealt with,” Cheshire interrupted in a tone barely above a whisper. Seeing the serious expression on his face, both Michael and Hastings fell silent and stepped closer to Cheshire and Leana.
Knowing that the moment of truth had arrived Leana stepped closer, bringing the group into a huddle. As she looked into Michael’s eyes she could feel her fear and shame waging war with her conscience-- a fight she did not intend to lose.
“Jeremiah is working to find a way to have Cheshire removed. I overheard him and some others plotting. He threatened my parents and brother when I confronted him and his comrades. He said if I remained silent they would not hurt them…Heavens! I feel ashamed. Out of fear I kept silent. Now with the Master’s help I am making amends. Please forgive me and please protect Mama, Papa, and Paul.”
Leana was unsure of their reactions, but she knew the truth had to be told regardless of the consequences. The Belgian shepherd’s fiery reproach could be no worse than her own feelings of guilt.
“You are very brave, Lady Longclaw.” Michael commented.
“I don’t feel it.” Leana admitted.