“Matt, I . . . I don’t know how to stop the launch. Only Tamiel does.”
He slid the loop around a metal protrusion on the missile’s cone. “Really? I’ll bet your son set it all up.”
“Yes, of course, but I don’t understand what Mardon did. I’m not a scientist.”
“Oh. Right. I’ve seen this movie. You’re playing the part of the sleazy seductress in this team of stupid lackeys.”
“Lackeys? Tamiel is—”
“Tamiel is a clown. He thinks he’s in control, but Arramos is just pulling his puppet strings. Tamiel says that God is predictable, but he’s the one who’s following a script.” Matt pulled the rope, testing the attachment. It held fast. “Since he can’t see me on the cameras, I’ll bet he calls me in less than a minute.”
She snarled. “You’re so cocky. You have no idea how powerful Tamiel is. He is the Silent One, an angel who resisted the tyrant of Heaven and was cast down because he dared to question the Almighty’s despotic reign.”
“Keep talking. Maybe someone will listen to your blabbering when little pieces of you scatter with the wind.”
Her lips trembled, and her whole body shook. “Matt. Listen. Please. I’m just a mother who is trying to get revenge on Arramos for what he did to my son. I’ve been going along with this plan so I can get close enough to kill him. Even now I am carrying a potion that will destroy him, but I won’t have the opportunity until we’re all together at the sixth door.”
Matt tested the rope again. It still held perfectly, but maybe delaying would keep Semiramis talking long enough to give something away. “Why should I believe someone who lies for a living?”
She breathed faster, shallower. “I have information, vital information that will save Second Eden. It has nothing to do with the missile. It’s a different danger. Release me, and I will tell you everything.”
“Tell me. If I think it’s valuable enough, I’ll let you go.”
“But it’s the only bargaining chip I have. How do I know you’ll keep your word?”
“I suppose someone like you doesn’t understand trust.” The cell phone rang. Matt smirked. “He’s right on time.” He climbed to his feet and fished the phone from his pocket. “Tamiel, it’s so good of you to call.”
“Matt Bannister, it seems that you failed to identify the correct Darcy, and your former sister is now trapped in that chair. Will you leave her there for me to kill when I come, or will you take her with you and allow my missile to launch?”
“Oh, I’m definitely taking her with me. I’m not cruel like you.”
“I assume you understand the ramifications of your decision. Second Eden will be in grave danger.”
“Yeah. Semiramis told me. I’ll let her tell you more.” He turned on the speaker and aimed the phone at Semiramis. “How about a little dose of truth?”
“Tamiel!” Semiramis called. “Matt tied me to the missile. If it launches, I’ll go with it.”
Silence ensued. After a few seconds, Tamiel’s voice came through the speaker. “A most ingenious solution, Matt. Your awareness of her value to me over the years has provided you with significant leverage. Congratulations.”
“Stop stalling. Tell me how to disable the missile, or it will soon rain glowing bits of Semiramis over the fields of Nebraska.”
“So be it. Such debris will not harm the corn crop too severely.”
“What?” Semiramis shrieked. “After all I’ve done for you over the centuries? I survived Morgan and Naamah and Goliath and Devin. I am your most trusted servant. I will do anything to help you. And you’ll need me at the sixth door. When Lauren arrives, only I can protect you. You can’t trust Arramos.”
“Your appeal was elevating my sympathies until you questioned Arramos’s loyalty. Your fate is now sealed. And I do not fear Lauren. Her self-preservation instincts will overrule her courage. All will be well.”
“But you said yourself that Arramos is expendable! You need me to eliminate him!”
“Nonsense. Such a desperate accusation against my loyalty is truly vile.” After a brief pause, Tamiel continued. “Matt, if you want your father to stay alive, proceed to the fifth address. It is only four hours away, so there is no need to spend the night anywhere. Be there by sunset.”
Semiramis gasped. “Matt. Listen. I will give you part of a numerical string—four, four, zero, three. The numbers are part of coordinates where I hid a lethal device in Second Eden. If you release me, I will give you the rest.”
“Is that so?” Matt spoke into the phone again. “Tamiel, Semiramis just gave me the numbers four, four, zero, three. What do those numbers mean to you?”
Tamiel laughed. “I heard. She is quite desperate, isn’t she? Those digits are part of my phone number. I assume it was all she could think of at the moment.”
“He’s lying!” Semiramis shouted. “He’s a demon! You can’t trust a single word he—” She closed her mouth and swallowed. “What I mean is—”
“What you mean,” Matt said, “is that I can’t trust him or you.”
“But . . . but . . .”
A click sounded. Matt looked at the screen. The call had ended.
“I guess that settles that.” He shoved the phone back into his pocket. “So much for all those centuries of service.”
“Matt, he’s . . . he’s just calling your bluff.” Her voice shook like a withered leaf. “He knows you wouldn’t really—”
“I’m not bluffing.”
Semiramis choked on her own saliva as she whispered, “I can help you save Second Eden. Trust me.”
“Trust you?” Matt crouched in front of Semiramis. “You’re nothing but a dead sorceress. A wraith. You told me yourself some things are real and some are deceptions. Maybe you’re not even real, so I’m not going to bother figuring out if you’re lying about Second Eden or not. Maybe the missile isn’t real either, and you have nothing to worry about.” He pointed toward the barn, his arm shaking. “But I do know Darcy’s real, and I’m going to save her life. I’ll take my chances with the rest.”
Matt stalked out of the silo. From within, Semiramis wailed. “Matt! You can’t do this to me! Have mercy!”
His jaw firm, he marched back into the barn and picked up Darcy’s coat. “It’s still snowing out there,” he said as he held it open. “You’ll need this.”
“Matt?” She looked up at him. Tear tracks stained her cheeks.
He grasped her wrist gently. “Let’s go.”
“But the missile . . .”
“We’ll let the missile take care of itself.” He pulled her to her feet. “I have to take care of you.”
The siren blared. “Launch sequence commencing.”
Matt wrapped the coat around her and patted her on the back. “Ready?”
As she smiled, tears flowed anew. “Ready.”
Matt turned to the ceiling camera and blew a kiss. “I love you, Mom. Thanks for everything.”
He offered his arm to Darcy and whispered, “I’m not saying I trust you yet, but let’s keep up the show of unity, for my mother’s sake.”
“I understand.” She hooked her arm around his. “We’d better hurry.”
With the siren still blaring, they ran from the barn into the snowy field, the farmhouse in sight. A tremor shook the ground. They slipped and dropped to their seats. Matt pivoted and looked at the silo, now about fifty paces away. The metal façade fell to the sides, revealing Semiramis curled on the floor.
A silvery missile shot out of the ground and hurtled toward the sky. The rope pulled taut and jerked Semiramis upward. Fiery exhaust shot along the ground in all directions. Matt threw himself over Darcy. A wave of mist roared by, rattling the surrounding cornstalks, but it felt no hotter than a steamy shower.
He rolled off, and the two looked up. Semiramis’s body dangled at the missile’s midsection and banged against the hull. The missile adjusted its trajectory and zoomed onward, leaving a white
smoke trail.
Darcy stared with wide eyes. “What will happen to her?”
“Hard to say. I’m no rocketry expert. The missile might eject part of its body, but since I tied her to the warhead, she should go along for the full ride. I’m guessing the computer will keep adjusting the course no matter how much her weight affects its balance.”
Darcy breathed a whispered, “And she’ll go up in a mushroom cloud.” A new tear slipped to her cheek.
“Are you okay?” Matt rose and helped Darcy to her feet. “She’s already dead. She’s a wraith. A demonic sorceress. My mother said there was no hope for her.”
“I know.” Darcy brushed water from the seat of her coat. “It’s just that . . .”
Matt looked into her eyes. It seemed that every thought came through loud and clear, as if Mom’s song carried emotions on the snowy breeze. “It’s just that you were kind of demonic, too.”
Biting her lip, she nodded.
“I get that. Sometimes I feel the same way about myself. It’s like two wild beasts fighting inside me, and I’m not sure which one’s going to win.”
“I know that feeling. But I think the battle’s over now, at least for me.”
Matt lifted the key ring at his hip. The fourth key glowed red. As it clinked against the others, it threw off scarlet sparks. “I wish I could say the same for myself.”
“Maybe I can help.” She extended a hand. “The show of unity was the first step. Will you take the second with me?”
He stared at her hand. “What’s the second step?”
“Just pretend you like me, at least for a while. A wise person once said to me, ‘Be kind to those who cast shadows on your soul, and soon the light of love will drive the darkness away.’”
“Let me guess. My mother.”
She nodded. “It’s worth a try. You already saved my life, so why not?”
“I guess it can’t hurt. But first . . .” He pulled the ring from his pocket and slid it onto her finger. “It fits perfectly.”
She rubbed the ring with her other hand. “I wore it to remind me to be nicer to people. . . . And to remember you.”
“I saw you rubbing your finger. Why didn’t you tell me about it earlier?”
“I thought I had just lost it.” She gave him a hesitant smile. “Would you have believed me if I showed you a bare finger and told you I had been wearing your Cracker Jacks ring all this time?”
“I guess not.” He slid his hand into hers. “But now I’m ready for the second step.”
She clutched his hand gratefully. “Hungry?” she asked, her smile brighter than ever.
“Starved.”
She led him toward the farmhouse. “Let’s see if Mariel has those bacon and eggs ready. It’s too cold to go grazing with Thomas.”
He laughed. “Now you’re talking.”
Matt and Darcy walked hand in hand toward the farmhouse, their arms swinging as light snow collected on their heads.
* * *
Bonnie dropped to her knees, the tablet still in her hands. She lifted her head and shouted, “Praise the God of Heaven and Earth! You have answered my prayer! You sent my song to my son’s ears and pricked his heart. He witnessed love, the love of a forgiven harlot who is now a saint. He saw Jesus in her sacrifice.” She brushed tears from her cheeks. “And now his heart has been softened. Now he can receive your grace and be forgiven himself, because he has seen your handiwork. He has witnessed the results of the fire that burns away every trace of dross.”
Selah crouched in front of her. Her intangible body glowed. “When Arramos hears what happened, he might come back to get you.”
“You’re right.” Bonnie touched the tablet’s screen. Matt and Darcy were no longer in view, just a toppled chair in an otherwise empty chamber. “Lord, I pray that you will continue to reach out to Matt. Allow me another chance to speak to him about faith in you. Now that the blinding shadow of hatred has been cast away, maybe he will be ready to hear about the greatest sacrificial act of all time.”
After taking a deep breath, she rose and looked out over the lake. Snow began falling, veiling the distant shores in a silky shroud. “While Arramos carried me here, I tried to keep my bearings, but with all the farms stretching out for miles and miles, everything looked the same.”
In the distance, something pierced the clouds and flew toward the lake. As it zoomed higher and higher, a silvery cylinder took shape. Something dark flopped against the cylinder like a loose garment, though it was too far away to distinguish. “It looks like . . .” Bonnie squinted. “A missile!”
“Tamiel wasn’t bluffing,” Joran said. “Taking Darcy from the chair must have triggered the launch.”
“Dear God,” Bonnie whispered, “please protect everyone at the target and in Second Eden.”
After it flew past, Bonnie gazed at the exhaust trail. The missile had drawn a path to its launch site—straight to Matt!
She stretched out her wings. “I’d better go before the wind blows that smoke away.”
Selah looked up. “It’s already starting to fade.”
“Then I have to leave right now.” Bonnie bowed her head. “Thank you for helping me with my song. I hope to see you again.”
“Maybe you will,” Joran said. “But not likely in this world. The ushering in of the sunset of this age is quickly approaching, and it’s possible that nothing can stop it.”
“I refuse to believe that.” She beat her wings and lifted into the air. “I’ll see you in my dreams!”
As she ascended, Joran and Selah dissolved into swirls of light. Seconds later, they dispersed and vanished.
Bonnie flew up to the missile’s trail and followed it toward the source. With snow pelting her eyes and a breeze scattering the smoke, the task seemed impossible. She picked a point in the distance where the trail seemed to originate and locked her stare on it. Even if the smoke disappeared completely, she had a target. Matt would be somewhere nearby. Somehow she would find him.
Chapter 13
MUSHROOM CLOUD
Lauren clung tightly to Roxil’s spine. The she-dragon had flown for hours, stopping only for water and food as directed by Lois. After getting a long rest in an abandoned airplane hangar the night before, Roxil’s energy had skyrocketed, which also increased her metabolism. With just a few lakes and streams, fish had been scarce, but her sharp eyes had spotted several rabbits and a deer that made wonderful roasted meals for both of them. Fortunately, her fire-breathing quickened the cooking process considerably.
Snow swirled in a cold, gusting wind. Roxil curled her neck back and breathed on Lauren from time to time. That helped a lot. This journey was proving to be far less painful than expected. In fact, constant lifts and falls in time with the wing beats, jerks to the side from gusts of wind, and beautiful farmland vistas proved to be exhilarating. Emotions surged, and, as usual, Lauren’s back scales tingled, enhancing her hearing.
She parsed the sounds in the wind—whistles, a dog barking, a rumbling engine, and . . . a song? Mom’s song?
“Roxil! I hear it! My mother’s song!”
Roxil called back. “Can you figure out where it is coming from?”
“I hope so. I mean, I’ll try.”
“Guide me. Slap my left side to go left, my right to go right. Pull on my spine to straighten.”
“Got it.” Lauren slapped Roxil’s left side. As their angle adjusted toward the song, Lauren pulled back on the spine. “That’s it. Perfect.”
Lauren then touched her jaw. “Lois, we’re going off course. I’m following my mother’s song.”
“Wait a minute,” Carly said through the transmitter. “I ran out of gas, so I couldn’t leave Lois plugged into the car battery for very long. I carried her to an abandoned warehouse and climbed the stairs to the roof for better reception. I was just about to plug her in to an extension cord I found, but it’s kind of frayed so . . .” She grunted. “There. . . . Coolne
ss. Her lights are flashing, and no sparks, so she should be good to go in a few seconds.”
“How far did you have to carry her?” Lauren asked.
“About a mile, I think. She’s pretty heavy, so I had to rest a few times. It took about an hour. You should have seen the looks I got from drivers passing by, but no one stopped to ask why I was carrying a Sputnik or even offered to help.”
“Are you exposed to bad weather where you are right now? It’s snowing here.”
“Not bad here at all, but I heard that a storm front is coming. I can haul her to the stairwell if . . . Oh. She’s up. Tell her again what you want.”
Lauren spoke slowly and evenly. “Lois, Roxil and I are flying a bit off course. I’m following my mother’s song.”
“Because of my recent shutdown,” Lois said, “I no longer have an estimate of your current location. Be sure to tell me about highways and landmarks you pass, and I will pinpoint your site and trajectory.”
“Perfect. And Carly?”
“Yes?”
“Thanks for all you’re doing. I hope you’re getting enough food and sleep.”
“Food’s not a problem. I have a backpack full of munchies. And sleep? I’ll take a fifty-hour nap when this crazy stuff is finished.”
Lauren yawned. “I’m with you on that.”
As Roxil flew onward, Lauren scanned the ground about two hundred feet below. She described every road, stream, and rocky protrusion to Lois. With each passing minute, the song grew louder. It seemed that they were chasing a chirping bird and gaining on it second by second.
Soon, a winged form came into view far ahead. Lauren jabbed her finger toward it. “There she is! My mother!”
“I see her.” Roxil beat her wings harder. As they closed the gap, Roxil let out a deafening roar, but the wind caught the sound and threw it back in their faces.
Tears formed in Lauren’s eyes. Mom didn’t slow down at all. But they would catch her—only a few minutes to go.
When they drew within a hundred yards, Roxil roared again, louder than ever. Mom arched her neck and peeked back. Her mouth dropped open. She smiled, spun in the air, and hovered in place, her wings beating furiously.