The Dove (17 page)

“Michael?”  Lavon raised both eyebrows.

“Michael.  Melchizedek.  Emmanuel.  Yesua.  Jesus.  Whatever name you choose to call him.  He has many names.  He is the One.”

Lavon turned his head slowly and met Konrad’s gaze.  Konrad had already suggested that it had been the Son of God rather than God, Himself that had appeared to Enoch and to many others who had claimed direct contact with the Creator of the Universe.  If not Jehovah, the demiurge, then Michael, the direct representation of the Father on earth.

“If Enoch was taught astronomy by Uriel and then warned of the flood by Jesus Christ, why… I mean,
what
did he mean when he told Enoch that the Watchers would have no peace?  What happened to the Watchers?  What happened?  If you are a Watcher, your Grace, I mean…”  Lavon faltered.  “The Apocalypse of St. John predicts that the world will be destroyed by fire and that Jesus will return to do battle with the Ancient Evil on the plains of Megiddo.  But it has been over 2000 years!  When is the destruction coming, Master?  Is it coming to kill the Sons of the Watchers just as the flood did?”  Lavon’s calm exterior evaporated as the true nature of his concern was revealed.

Edgard turned up his glass and finished off the Port.

“Ahhh!  It’s grand to have a decent glass again!”  He plunked the goblet on the marble and mahogany table in front of the settee, before laughing softly.  Neither of the two Knights before him had ever seen this side of the Master.  His eyes twinkled with elfish mischief as he looked from one of them to the other. “So you think God would destroy you, Lavon?  Konrad?  Do you think the Creator who is all love and light and compassion would kill Simon of Grenoble?  Giovanni Dambretti?  Or our little elf King, Il Dolce Mio?  Have you not learned anything from Simon’s teachings?  Or would you rather believe the doctrine of the pagans?  You have seen men grieve and you have seen me grieve, but grief is a pathetic expression of selfishness.  I gave over to my grief when I thought my son dead, and yet, I knew that he could not die.  Oh, yes, he can leave me behind.”  Edgard chuckled again and pointed one finger toward the vaulted dome of the ceiling.  “God can take our loved ones to Him and we are selfish to wish it otherwise.  Why would we want them to stay here in this place with us when the Creator has a better plan for them?”

“It would seem to go against everything we have been taught to think that one could really die.”  Konrad agreed and shrugged slightly.  “But He did allow Jozsef Daniel, Omar and even Anna to be destroyed.  Surely there was never a saint who compared to my granddaughter.  What she did was an act of utter self-sacrifice, much as Lucia brought about her own destruction though she was a bit skewed in her thinking.  My wife is still one of us, your Grace, I fail to see why she had to die.  Why
any
of them had to die while we were spared.”

“You speak of dying and destruction in the same breath, Konrad.”  Edgard settled into his seat.  “Dying and destruction are not the same things.  And though Lucia died, she is not destroyed.  And certainly Anna, Omar and Jozsef are not destroyed, neither did they die.  Just as Lucifer and his warrior band were not destroyed but simply put aside for a while.  Contained in crystal by powerful forces.  They too have succumbed to a similar force.  Have you forgotten the source of the Ancient Evil’s presence?  The crystal skull?”

Lavon’s mouth fell open at his words and Konrad straightened up suddenly.

“It is only a matter of setting things aright.  As for your own concerns, why are we constantly given warnings and prophecies if we are not empowered to do something about them?  Besides, the war has come and gone just as prophesied and fully one third of the world’s population has been decimated by fire.  Yet, again, we still sit here.  Does that not tell you something?  Armageddon is simply a small battle in the war.  A particular place where something of particular interest will occur.”  Edgard held out his glass and Konrad went for the Port decanter.  “Why are you afraid of Armageddon, Lavon?  Do you believe that the Creator’s Son can be defeated?”

“No sir!  I don’t believe such a thing is possible.”  The Knight’s face grew pale at the thought.  “Of course not! 
Sacre bleu!
”

“And why are you afraid of death?  Death cannot truly touch you.  No more than it can touch any of us or any man.  The only way to see God is to become one with him in the All in All.  We must shed these mantles of flesh and meet with Him in Glory.  You should look forward to that time when He will take you home.”  Edgard held out his glass to Konrad and waved the other hand about absently.  “As for the Watchers, there will be no peace.  And so there has been no peace for us.  While the flood washed over our sons and the world was destroyed by the one who created us, we were condemned to live in a state of correction.  Once our penance was accomplished, we began to work toward restoration and salvation.  But since we had lived with men for so long, we continued to be a part of this material world and we continue to err, just as men do.  We have become more like men than our heavenly brothers.  In answer to your question, some might say we were punished for our transgressions, but the Creator does not punish, He corrects and we continue to be corrected until we can earn our salvation and become one with Him in much the same way as men must strive to live as the Creator and His Son have instructed us so that we might see God.  God burns away our sins and leaves only that which is pure and, like different cuts of mutton, some of us take longer in the oven, but God is a good cook.  We will all come out perfectly well done in the end.”  He took a long sip of the port and smiled at them indulgently.

((((((((((((()))))))))))))

The last leg of the journey was exactly that… leg.  The APV had coasted to a stop a few hundred yards from the nearest tumble of rocks that might have a bit of shelter or concealment to offer proving that God was certainly with them.  The sun had not come up just yet and the first gray light of dawn was lightening the eastern horizon as the tiny group made their way across the last stretch of open ground.  They had seen no more beasts or monsters during the night and the starlight had been almost as good as a full moon, allowing them to drive without headlights, further concealing their presence from unfriendly eyes.  When the last sputter had sounded, they climbed out of the cramped confines of the vehicle, hefted as much water and food as they could carry and set off toward the rocky foothills of the mountains.

Colonel McGuffy had told them that he expected to meet up with the Fox troops, who would help them on their journey on the lower slopes of the mountains.  They had slightly misjudged the distance that the vehicles would travel on the diesel fuel that they had been able to acquire.  The ziz-zagging at the start of the trip from old Babylon, brought on by the meteor storm’s damages to the terrain had used too much of their short fuel reserves, but with just a bit of grace, they would make it to the foothills and find the Colonel’s men waiting for them.  The Colonel used a variety of elaborate navigational devices to take them to their appointed rendezvous point.  Bari walked with Nicole behind Sophia and Mark Andrew while the soldiers brought up the rear with their weapons ready for anything that might challenge their progress.  But it was Mark Andrew who challenged their progress more often than not.  He was not used to walking such great distances.  His feet hurt and his muscles ached and his progress was further impeded by his intense curiosity about the things they encountered from the sight of piece of broken pottery to the occasional slithering creatures that had come out in the cooler air of the night to forage.  Nicole had never realized there were so many forms of life hidden in the barren wastelands.  They were constantly stopping to allow him to rest or chasing after him when he saw something that demanded his attention… and theirs.  In spite of his pain, he still smiled and asked for kisses from Sophia whenever Bari admonished him.  He would sometimes simply sit down abruptly and pull off his boots.  He was confused by the blisters that began to appear on his heels in spite of the thick socks and demanded that Sophia examine each one and put bandages on each one.  The Colonel provided numerous bandages from the first aid kit and soon his feet were covered with the sticky little things.  They were all mentally and physically exhausted by the time they reached the first boulders marring the flat terrain.  The Colonel and one of the sergeants climbed up higher to get a bearing on their location while the rest of them took a break in the deep shadow of the rock.

Sophia, Nicole and Bari leaned against the rock, closing their eyes while the soldiers sat about them, trying to stay awake.  Mark Andrew had his boots off again, inspecting the injuries to his feet.  He had wanted to climb up with the Colonel, but they had objected loudly.  The Colonel had finally appeased him by allowing him to keep his sword to protect Sophia.  The sword lay in front of him on the ground.  He pulled on his socks and replaced his boots, before standing up again to test his handiwork.  Nothing helped.  He pulled off the kaffiyeh and stared out at the landscape from whence they had come.  He could almost see their abandoned vehicle in the distance.  They had been unable to hide it or cover their tracks.

The Knight’s forehead crinkled into a quizzical frown as he saw a line of red lights appear on the horizon.  At first, he was simply curious about this new sight, but as the light grew brighter and he recognized it as an approaching danger.

Colonel McGuffy and his sergeant tumbled down the rock just as Mark picked up the sword and began to shake Sophia’s arm frantically.  The soldiers were speaking rapidly and pointing toward the ominous red glow on the horizon. 

“What is that?!”  Nicole leapt to her feet and Bari staggered up beside her.

“The sunrise!”  The Emperor rubbed at his eyes.

“Since when does the sun rise in the north, Bari?”  Nicole shook her head.  Here was something else coming from New Babylon.  Apparently they had left just in time.

Sophia grabbed Mark’s arm as the ground seemed to shift or shudder slightly under them.

“We have to go higher!”  The Colonel began to give orders to his six soldiers and two sergeants.  They all scrambled for their packs and ushered the stunned civilians into the rocks and up the slope as the first rumblings of the approaching firestorm reached them.

“There’s a cave up there!”  McGuffy shouted as they broke into a mad dash up the scrabbly slope, pushing, pulling and tugging each other along. 

They made for the darker blackness of the cave opening above them and almost reached it before the storm over took them.  What looked like red hailstones flickering with blue fire began to rain down on them from the sky.  The thunder was deafening and the pelting of the flaming pellets on the rocks, prevented any more conversation before they crashed and tumbled into the small cavern carved under an overhanging ledge of crumbling rock.  The thirteen terrified travelers cowered against the rear of the cave with their hands pressed over their ears as the roar of the tiny bombs and the rumble of the accompanying thunder threatened to bring the roof down on them.  Everything outside the cave that could burn was burning.

Mark Andrew squinted at the deluge in horror.  These hailstones were more like
hellstones
.  They smelled of brimstone and sulfur.  Yellow smoke mingled with red dust drifted past the mouth of the cave and soon filled it with noxious fumes.  The little troop began coughing and choking.

“Do something!”  Nicole gasped and shoved on Bari’s shoulder.  “Do something, you worthless imbecile!”

Bari looked at her in astonishment and then scooted forward slightly.  He yanked his backpack from his shoulder and ripped it open.  The crystal skull lay wrapped in a yellow silken cloth.  Coughing and choking, he pulled the thing from the bag and put it on the ground in front of him.  He closed his eyes tightly and pressed his palms together in front of him.  A shimmering wave of energy filled the cavern and tickled their noses, causing the hairs on their necks to stand up.  The smoke appeared to reverse its crawl and was suddenly sucked back out of the cave.  Mark Andrew pressed his hands against his ears and began to wail as unbearable pain assaulted his head.  Sophia tried fruitlessly to help him, but as a breath of cool air issued from the cracks and crevices of the wall behind them, water began to ooze out of the rocks, the
Chevalier du Morte
fell forward, unconscious on his face in the sand.

((((((((((((()))))))))))))

Jozsef Daniel, or the creature Sabaoth masquerading as Jozsef Daniel, picked up the crystal skull of King Ramsay and jammed it back in the leather pouch he had taken from one of the camel soldiers.  The storm had passed on toward the south, leaving behind smoking debris and dead bodies, burned beyond recognition.  He had lost a quarter of his forces in the first onslaught of the storm before he had regained his senses and used the powers he controlled, along with the force of the skull to cast a protective barrier between his army and the burning chunks of rock falling from the sky.  Again, he had watched for the third time as his army fled in terror, catching fire, rolling on the ground, screaming and dying, while others took shelter under burning tents, inside trucks and vehicles, crushing each other in the process before he’d had time to react.  Abaddon had helped him this time, rather than running away, by producing the leather pouch and suggesting he use it against the angels, who had returned to deliver this latest attack on them.