by Bryan Davis
Ever since Earth, Hades, and Second Eden separated more than a year ago, everything should have returned to the peaceful paradise that realm had longed for. But Elam and Sapphira, established as king and queen of Second Eden by Enoch’s orders, made sure life there stayed hopping with technology updates and deeper explorations of their cleansed world through expeditions led by Yereq, Legossi, Mantika, and Windor.
When Legossi learned that Angel was her resurrected daughter, she felt more at home in Second Eden. She spent many evenings hearing Listener’s stories about Angel’s love and wisdom.
Valiant relished being relieved of his duties and often took Candle on long journeys, both for physical training and spiritual instruction. Having recently become Emerald’s Adam, Valiant felt like he was in training himself. Fatherhood awaited. He and Emerald had won the lottery for an upcoming birth, and both were as happy as they could be.
The companions of those who had died in Second Eden became communication portals between Heaven and Second Eden. The widow or widower, along with any children, could speak to their loved one in Heaven, fulfilling Abraham’s word that keeping the companions would someday bring his people joy.
Sharing authority in Second Eden, Makaidos and Thigocia ruled as king and queen of the dragons, with Roxil and Karrick as their ambassadors to Earth. Since every slayer had been vanquished, they hoped to acclimate both worlds to the idea of dragons in their midst, but that would take a while.
On the Earth side, the castle museum run by Sir Barlow and his knights flourished. They no longer hid their identities as knights from the time of King Arthur, thereby attracting more visitors than they could handle. Barlow, in particular, enjoyed the exposure. Every day he would tell a long tale to a gathering of hundreds of children, a tale of knights, dragons, and slayers.
Walter’s new message was hilarious, as usual. After he and Ashley resumed her computer business, she built another super- computer in their home—Lois, a new generation, faster and with a greater learning capacity than Larry. According to Walter, Larry found out about Lois by reading Ashley’s e-mail to Billy, and now Larry was “requesting” an upgrade by sending Lois thousands of messages per minute with the same words, “Give me parity, or give me death.”
As he reached for Bonnie’s hospital room door, Billy laughed to himself. Walter was as funny as ever, and he and Ashley were as happy as any two love birds around. Although as different as night and day, their conflicting ways somehow seemed to mesh, and they never spoke a cross word to one another, though they still playfully fought with snow, water, and anything else that would cause no damage.
Billy pushed open the door and strode in. “Sorry I’m late.”
As soon as Bonnie saw him, her face lit up. “Don’t worry. I was fine. I just finished feeding the babies.” Reclining in a partially raised bed, Bonnie used her wings to push higher, trying not to disturb the infants, one nestled in each arm. Her multicolored necklace draped a blue hospital gown that matched her pretty eyes. “Charles went right back to sleep, but Karen’s a little fussy. I couldn’t get her to burp.”
“I’ll give it a try.” Billy held out the sack. “I brought your favorite sandwich.”
She waved with a wing. “Thank you! You’re my knight in shining armor!”
He set the bag on her stomach along with the stack of envelopes. “Christmas cards,” he said. “Lots of great news.”
While Bonnie opened the first card, Billy set Karen against his shoulder and patted her on the back. The image of tiny wings appeared in his mind. Of course, she was much too young for any wings to sprout, but it was possible, someday. Maybe she would take after her mother.
Now that society had accepted Bonnie Bannister, the strange dragon girl, as well as Gabriel and Shiloh Drake, two more recently married oddities from the dragon line, and now that Earth was negotiating with Roxil for the reentry of friendly dragons into the world, Karen would never have to worry about hiding wings in a backpack.
“This is good news,” Bonnie said. “The orphanage is well-supplied, and Patrick and Ruth are both healthy and happy.”
As Billy continued patting Karen’s back, Bonnie showed him a photo from the next card. “Shiloh looks just like me when I was pregnant.”
“Stands to reason,” Billy said. “Did you read the sales’ leads?”
She nodded. “Gabriel thinks he has a buyer for two of them. Do you know which ones?”
“He called me a few minutes ago. He sold ‘The Faceless Protectors’ and ‘The Wedding Ball.’ He’s really proving to be a great agent.”
“And you’re a great artist.”
Billy smiled at her loving expression. No matter how many times she built him up with her encouraging words, her compliments always felt good. Yet, the wedding painting, in particular, really was a work he could be proud of. Drawing Elam and Sapphira dancing under the spray of a fountain, with a wedding party of dragons and humans surrounding them, had been a labor of love, and it turned out beautifully. The price Gabriel was able to get would pay the bills for quite a while.
Karen burped, and heat from her spittle scalded Billy’s shoulder. Holding her at arms’ length, he gazed into her eyes. “Did you and your brother pull a switcheroo on us?”
She just stared at him, her purplish eyes wide. Billy set her back at Bonnie’s side and reached for his son.
“What are you doing?” she asked. “He’s asleep.”
Billy pulled away. “I just wanted to check for—”
“Wings?” Smiling, she winked. “I already checked. Nothing yet.”
He set a hand on the bedrail and gazed at their two newborns. “So now that Alithia and Dallas found their offspring, how many does that make, humans born to dragons or former dragons, I mean?”
“Eleven?” Bonnie guessed.
Billy raised a finger for each name he rattled off. “Ashley, Gabriel, Shiloh, Listener, Thomas, Mariel, Karen, and Charles. That’s eight. If Angel were still alive, that would have made nine, but I’m counting only living anthrozils.”
Bonnie pointed at him. “And you and I make ten.”
“Right,” he said, laughing under his breath. “I almost forgot.”
“And Ruth’s and Patrick’s son makes eleven.”
“But he doesn’t count, does he? They’re both fully human.”
Bonnie wrinkled her nose. “True. I didn’t think about that.”
Resting his hand on the rail again, he blew a sad sigh. “I wish Prof could have lived to see our little ones.”
Bonnie caressed Karen’s feather-soft blond hair. “I’m sure he’s seen them. Enoch would make sure of that.”
“I guess so. With his portal viewer, he can—”
A knock sounded at the door. “Maintenance.”
“Sure,” Billy said. “Come on in.”
An elderly man dressed in clean blue coveralls walked in, pushing a cart that carried lightbulbs, paper towels, and bathroom tissue. Brushing back his white hair, he nodded at a flickering light in the ceiling. “I heard that you might want a bit more illumination in here.”
Bonnie’s face lit up. “Enoch!”
He pressed a finger to his lips. “I suppose my disguise lacks authenticity.”
“No,” Billy said, laughing. “It’s great. We just have, I guess you might call it, a heavenly advantage.”
“Did you come to see our little ones?” Bonnie asked.
Enoch waved a hand. “Oh, I’ve seen them, and so have many in Heaven. When you announced their names, more than one tear coursed down your professor’s cheek, and Karen’s aura shone like the sun.” He patted Billy on the back. “Your kindness to their memory is very much appreciated.”
Billy grasped Enoch’s arm warmly. “So, to what do we owe the blessing of your visit?”
Enoch gazed at the infants. “Just to deliver a prophecy. Be sure that your offspring forge friendships with the others, especially Listener, Thomas, and Mariel. It is clear that their paths, should they choose the way
of faith and righteousness, will lead them toward many adventures.”
“Dangerous adventures?” Bonnie asked.
“Oh, yes. Of course.” A wry smile spread across his face. “I assume you wouldn’t want it any other way.”
Billy slid his hand into Bonnie’s. “After all we’ve been through together, and after all God taught us …” He shook his head. “No. We wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Pronunciation Guide
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