Treasure of Light (The Light Trilogy) (53 page)

“Oh, you mean like the dreams you have about you and me fighting battles against the Magistrates?”

She nodded, scrunching up her face. “They mean something important.”

“Yeah, but those are
funny,
funny dreams. They’re different.”

He watched her fingers fumbling with the laces of her other shoe and leaned forward, taking the laces from her hands. “Here, let me tie it. Now, watch how I do this.” He double-knotted them real slow, so she could tell what he did. “See that?”

“Yeah,” she said, but he could tell she hadn’t really watched. “Someday maybe we’ll work on it again.”

“Okay.” He looked at her and held her gaze. Some deep hurt crawled out of her eyes. “So what kinds of things does your mom say?”

“Oh, things about the Mashiah. And you know, Mikael, I think maybe she liked him. I think maybe … maybe she even loved him.”

She looked up suddenly, as though expecting him to shout bad things at her. Did her mother do that?

He shrugged and stretched out on his side, propping his head on his hand. He smoothed his fingers over the soft fibers in the carpet. “What if she did? What difference would it make?”

“A lot. He killed my dad.”

“Yeah, but maybe he didn’t mean to and she found that out.”

“What makes you think so?” how bad that High Councilman was. What was his name?”

“Ornias. He was a pig.”

“So maybe he did it and blamed it on the Mashiah? Who knows? Your mom wouldn’t like the Mashiah unless he was really okay, would she?”

Sybil shook her head sternly. Her brown curls bounced. “No, she’s too smart.”

She squinted hard at his arm for a while.

“So what else does she say in her sleep.”

Sybil glanced at him fearfully and his stomach gurgled. He patted it to make it be quiet.

“Mikael, this is even a bigger, badder secret.”

“It’s okay. I keep secrets good.”

Sybil brushed hair out of her eyes and took a deep breath. “Okay, listen, I’m going to tell you everything. But you can’t ever tell anybody else. She—she talks a lot about Epagael. Like she was living through a time when she talked to him. And it’s bad stuff.”

“Some people can go talk to God. My grandfather did it all the time. But I think you have to have a
Mea.”

A swallow bobbed in Sybil’s throat. “She does, Mikael.”

“She does?” Excitement went through him. He opened his mouth dramatically. “Why didn’t you ever tell me? That means God likes her. That’s good.”

“Maybe. I’m not sure.”

“But talking to God’s always good.”

“But….” She looked horrible, like she wanted to say something but was afraid to.

“I’ll believe whatever you say, Sybil. What?”

“Maybe I won’t tell you that part yet. It’s pretty scary. You might have bad dreams like I do.” She squinted at him.

“I don’t like bad dreams. But one or two would be okay I guess. I want to know. Tell me?”

She played with her brown sleeve for a little while, then lay down beside him, stretching out with her face real close and serious.

“Mikael?”

“What?”

“Sometimes my mom acts likes she’s talking to Aktariel too.”

He blinked, fear rising like a black balloon in his chest, but he tried to hide it. God had thrown that wicked angel out of heaven. He was the Deceiver. He lied to people all the time to trick them into doing bad things that hurt God. “What does she say about him? I have nightmares about him sometimes, too.”

“These are different,” Sybil said gravely. “She talks to him like he was in the room with us, standing right by her bed.”

“Do you see him?”

“No … no, I never do. But it’s kind of like having a ghost in the cabin at night. I snuggle down under my blanket and cover up my head. And sometimes I cry. Because my mom cries a lot. Like—like he makes her feel bad, guilty, or scared, or something.”

He tilted his head, thinking about it. It didn’t make any sense. If Sybil’s mom had a
Mea
and could go talk to God, that would make Aktariel leave her alone. That bad angel was afraid of God. Just like everybody else.

Sybil’s face puckered again and she squeezed her eyes closed, crying softly. She rolled over onto her stomach and buried her face on her arm. He shrugged helplessly.

“Sybil? It’s okay.” He slid closer to her until he pressed against her side, then he put his arm around her and rested his head on her shoulder, patting her opposite arm.

“It’s okay, Sybil. I bet she’s just having regular dreams. Not
funny
ones. You probably shouldn’t be scared.”

But he was. He felt like he had a snake crawling in his guts.

She turned hurt eyes on him. “Mikael? If I call my mom and ask her if I can sleep with you, will you let me?”

“Sure. I haven’t had a friend to sleep with in a long time.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I don’t care. Do you want to go home and get some stuff, like a nightgown or toothbrush?”

“No!”
Sybil’s eyes got big. “No, I—I don’t want to go back at all. Not tonight. I’m too scared.”

“Okay. That’s all right with me.”

She smiled and sat up, wiping her nose on the tail of her shirt which had pulled out of her pants when she’d lain down. “Thanks, Mikael. I’m real scared tonight. Someday, when my mom’s all right again, if you’re feeling bad, you can come sleep with me, too.”

He sat up, returning her smile. “Okay. Why don’t you call your mom and see if it’s okay?”

“All right.” Sybil shoved to her feet to run to the com on the wall over the table. Mikael watched her, a kind smile on his face and she heaved a sigh. He made her feel better, like maybe things really would be okay.

She crawled into the chair and stood on her knees, then punched in her room number. “Mom? It’s me, Sybil. Could I spend the night with Mikael? He said it would be okay.”

No answer. Sybil glanced fearfully at him. But he just shrugged.

“Ask again. Maybe she was in the bathroom or asleep or something.”

She nodded. “Mom? Are you awake?”

“Sybil?” her
mother’s tense voice came back. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah, Mom. Are
you
all right?”

“Yes. I—I…. Are you coming home now?”

“I wanted to know if I could spend the night with Mikael. He has some neat things to show me, like his stamp collection and—”

“Yes, you can stay overnight. But call me first thing tomorrow morning, all right? I want you here for breakfast.”

Sybil smiled happily at Mikael. He smiled back. “Thanks, Mom. I love you.”

“I love you, too, sweetheart. Good night.”

“Good night, Mom.”

Sybil jumped off the chair and let out a war whoop, making it last as long and as loud as she could. When she finished, she put her hands on her hips proudly. “Can you do it that long?”

“I don’t think so, but let me try.” He took a very deep breath and threw back his head, howling like a stone wolf on the hunt.

Sybil lifted her brows, impressed, prepared to tell Mikael how good that was, but he stopped in mid-yell. A crazy look came over his face.

He tilted his head as if listening. “What?”

Sybil shook her head. “I didn’t say anything.”

His jaw slackened, face going so pale his hair looked blacker than black. He seemed to be staring at the ceiling. Sybil turned to look up, too, but saw nothing very interesting.

“What, Grandfather?” Mikael asked nervously. “Tell me again, I didn’t hear you.”

Sybil’s eyes jerked back to him and she felt suddenly queasy. He hadn’t been talking to her. In a sudden burst of light, the
Mea
around his neck glowed like a blue sun, drowning out the white light of the lustreglobes. It flared so brilliantly, the walls turned as blue as the noon sky. She lifted a hand to shield her eyes.

Breathing hard, Sybil backed away, dropping into one of the chairs by the table.

“Yes, Grandfather, I know. He’s come to talk to me before. I’m not scared.”

He tilted his head forward so that his chin rested on his chest. “No, sir. He came to see me on Kayan. He got me off the planet before the Magistrates scorched it. He saved my life because he said I was the new leader of Gamant civilization and people needed me. Why didn’t the archangel Michael tell you before that God had sent Metatron to help me?”

Sybil struggled to listen and could hear a faint, ever so faint, buzz coming from the
Mea.
Is that where his grandfather lived?
In the
Mea? Her eyes widened and she felt her cheeks get hot. The voice she’d heard coming out of her mother’s
Mea
had sounded like her dad. Could he live in that
Mea?
Excitement swept her and her hands shook. She stuck them under her arms to keep them warm. She’d have to ask Mikael.

He’d know.

He knew lots of things about
Meas
that she didn’t.

“Yes, Grandfather,” Mikael said lovingly. “When I talk to Slothen, I’ll tell him.”

As though becoming suddenly aware of her presence, Mikael looked at Sybil and smiled broadly. Nervously, she smiled back.

“Grandfather? Before you go, can I ask you sumpthin’?”

The buzz sank even lower.

“I have a friend now. Her name’s Sybil. Can I tell her about you? She’s keeps secrets real good.”

His face darkened as he listened. “All right. That part I’ll keep secret until you tell me it’s okay.” He went quiet again, then a slow smile crept over his face and he nodded heartily. “Thank you, Grandfather. I love you. Tell Epagael I’ll try to make everything okay for Him here. Sybil promised to help.”

Mikael bowed his head for a long minute and Sybil found herself sitting on the edge of her seat, waiting. Finally, he looked up and laughed.

“I can tell you!”

“You can?”

“Yeah, Grandfather says it’s okay.” He squinted suddenly. “But you can’t tell anybody else.”

“I won’t. I promise.”

Mikael got up and ran to her, resting a hand on her shoulder and looking down radiantly. “Sybil. You’re the best friend I’ve ever had. My cousin Shilby used to be a pretty good friend, but we fought a lot. You’re a better friend. You don’t hit me.”

“I wouldn’t hit you. I like you, Mikael. Unless you hit me first, then I’d wallop you good.” She playfully shook a fist at him.

He grabbed it and laughed, pulling her out of the chair. She landed on the floor with a loud thud. He fell beside her and hugged her. Sybil felt funny having him hug her, but she hugged him back, guessing it was okay. Someday, they’d lead a war together. She guessed the sooner they got to be real good friends the better.

They wrestled for a while, laughing until their stomachs ached. Then when Mikael finally got on top again, he let her arms go and looked down at her, his smile fading to a serious look.

“Sybil? I won’t ever hit you. Not even if you hit me first.”

“Why not? That would be okay. If I hit you, you can hit me just as hard. My dad told me once. My friend Moshe used to knock me down in the school yard and try to kiss me. So I smacked him good.”

Mikael got up, standing awkwardly and looking down at her. “But maybe I won’t anyway. I think I’d feel worse if I hit you than if I didn’t. And I don’t like feeling bad.”

She propped herself up on her elbows and noisily blew hair out of her eyes. “Yeah, I think I’d feel pretty bad, too. Maybe we just won’t hit each other.”

He smiled, lifting his eyebrows. “That sounds good to me. Hey, do you want to go to bed now?”

Sybil got up and started unbuttoning her shirt. She noticed curiously that he watched her with a shy nervousness. She threw her shirt over the back of a chair, then took off her pants and did the same. Standing in the middle of the room in her undershirt and panties, she propped her hands on her hips and eyed him inquisitively.

“Aren’t you going to get undressed?”

“Oh, sure.” fie slipped his shirt over his head and got out of his pants, leaving both lying in a pile on the floor. He just had on shorts. He looked skinny.

Sybil gazed at his clothes on the floor and frowned, but figured since he didn’t have a mother to yell at him, it would be all right. She walked past him to get into his bed and scooted to the back, propping her head on her hand.

He smiled suddenly and ran to turn the lights down real low, sort of like a nightlight, then climbed in bed. They snuggled warmly beside each other and Sybil felt good. For the first time since her father had gotten killed on Horeb, she wasn’t afraid of the dark.

She looked at Mikael’s face and noticed that he had a black mole beneath his left ear. “Mikael? Sometimes I don’t sleep too good. Maybe if I have bad dreams, you could pat me?”

He nodded, biting his lower lip. “Sure. You bet.”

“Okay, this is a night of secrets. What did your grandfather say? Does he live in the
Mea?”