Cole used to be a good catch. Hopefully, that was still the case. David whipped out his handgun and tossed it to his brother.
The fatal twitch.
* * *
Cole spotted David’s smooth move with distaste. David wouldn’t think to try to use the gun himself. He’d toss it and hope for the best because he was overwhelmed. He was going to die, but he might not have to if he’d think things through! David’s hand crept down to his gun and tossed it in Cole’s direction. Cole caught it.
Still a good catcher, thank God.
Ariana dropped David’s bleeding, gagging body to the ground. Now that the worst had happened, Cole had no time to think about grief. David intended for this to increase the odds of survival. That had to come first.
Cole aimed the gun at Vincent. If Ariana threw the knife, Vincent would receive a loving, thoughtful bullet. Hesper rushed to attack Ariana but Reverenced One Pierce reached out and grasped her arm in a hard-locked grip. She kicked him between the legs and carried on. Quint Pierce had never been a remarkable person, and he proved it again and again.
A thick, odorless cloud appeared in the middle of the room, steadily pouring in as if through a window in the air. The cloud expanded, flashing with radiant bursts of bright blue, topaz, crimson, and sparks of purple.
Minh’s voice echoed off of the stone walls. "My God! Oh, my God!”
Ariana shrieked and ran for the doors. The cloud issued a flash of azure lightning that dropped her to the floor. The strike left a smoking black hole in her back, sparking with purple. Thunder growled low and long, building up until it filled the room with its resonating power. A strange quivering hum tore Cole’s eyes away from the cloud. The Kyrios were shivering, holding themselves, teeth chattering as they looked on at one another in dumb, frozen terror. Then, within moments, sweat saturated their clothing and some began to disrobe to escape a scorching heat Cole could not feel. Comfortable, cool air surrounded him. Jesurun and Hesper appeared to be unaffected as well.
Jesurun broke free from the quiet hysteria and planted a blazing fist into Vincent’s chest. The blow tossed Vincent like a wave, then brought him crashing to the floor at the bottom of the platforms. The sizzling-hot stone fried his skin, and his perfect hair melted in the puddle of boiling blood beneath his broken skull. The Kyrios lifted their blistering feet up onto the chairs and gazed in helpless horror as the cloud claimed the room from wall to wall.
Jesurun dropped to his knees, face to the ground. Hesper stood across the room, watching in the way of a wild animal. In a few moments, the haze blocked Cole’s view and muted the cries and screeches of the Kyrios until it suffocated them. Several minutes later, in silence, the lightning decreased as the cloud disappeared the same way it came.
Seeing that Hesper and Jesurun were okay, Cole hurried past the bodies of the Kyrios to his brother and dropped to his knees.
That fat head coward.
For the first time since he was eight, Cole cried in public. Hesper’s strong arms lay over his back, and her head rested against him. Elderberry wine, oil, and tears bled out of her spirit and into his own.
* * *
Jesurun crouched beside David’s body. He owed this guy. If he could do something for him, he would, but what? He touched David’s throat to heal the gash. While he left no sign that David had ever been wounded, the guy was still dead. What could he touch that would make this okay?
Would God care? That was the better question. What would God be willing to do?
He rested his hand on David’s heart. No fire burned down his arm, and only coolness flowed from his back. The image of an unfurling pink flower bloomed in his mind like a dream. The flower pulsed, and a faint thudding tapped at his palm.
A heartbeat.
Life radiated through David’s face, pushing the paleness away. Just as Jesurun touched the cold lips, an intake of breath drew cool air through his fingers. Hesper and Cole sobered and jumped back, startled. David’s chest surged upward. His lids opened, and tears poured down the side of his face and into his hair. Blinking, he stared at Jes a moment before a wild laugh burst out of his mouth. "I didn’t expect that.”
Hands to his face, he rolled to his side and released a long, mournful wail until he had lost all his breath, took in fresh air, and repeated the same, hoarse, wavering cry.
Jes stood to back away and give the family time to figure out their feelings, but strong, lady-arms wrapped around him.
"You have my gratitude,” Hesper said. Her body shook with tears as Jes patted her back, giving several furtive glances to Cole. The threatening glare never came.
"Yeah, no, it’s . . .” Well, it sure wasn’t nothin’, Stupid! Don’t say that. "It’s pretty amazing. I’m glad it worked.”
Thirty-Nine | Post-Conquest: 232
Cole covered his face with a scarf and bundled up to bring Hesper home to Lorelei. She couldn’t be left alone, but, for the sake of safety, she couldn’t stay with them either.
David and Jes waited for Cole in the locked Judgment Room. It wouldn’t be abnormal for a trial of such a nature to take all afternoon. He had time before anyone on the base might grow suspicious. If they were going to make anything like a smart move now, he needed a clear head to formulate a plan.
The reformation of an entire nation wouldn’t be easy and might never happen, but Jesurun had allied himself with something bigger than an army. Why would anyone challenge It once presented with evidence of supernatural intervention? One here and there, but after continually failing, it wouldn’t happen much. Time would tell, of course. Jes did say that his powers didn’t always work. That could be problematic.
Where could he go to be alone with his thoughts? He scanned the base, considering the closed businesses and homes.
Friends.
Beyond the base, the forest called.
* * *
Cole came home with a bag full of things from Hesper’s community. Her drum, a few wooden boxes, and Theia’s betrothal token. Hesper would like that.
After a hasty shower to beat away the chill in his bones and to wash the feeling of death off his body, he whipped out a pair of blue jeans and a sweater and went in search of Hesper. She wasn’t in the parlor, so she was probably in the dining room, eating or talking with Lorelei. He didn’t have time for a hunt!
"Sir,” Lorelei called, pointing out the dining room window. "She’s outside. I check on her to make sure she’s all right. She’s just sitting in that tree. Sir, what’s going on?”
“Something big, but I’ll have to tell you later, ma’am. She needs to come inside and stay inside. Lock doors. Keep the shotgun with you.” He hugged her and turned back to the foyer to grab a scarf and coat.
Wrapped up, he stepped outside. At least Hesper was dressed in a coat and hat and taking care of herself. The cold had steeped her cheeks in crimson, and she shivered despite her warm coat.
"How long have you been out here?” he asked.
Now noticing him, she turned her head. "Awhile.”
Cole pulled himself up to the branch beside her. "We need to get through tonight, Hesper. Then we’ll take tomorrow and get through that. Life is not over.”
"Are you certain Mama and Papa are gone?”
"They were still in bed. Yes, they’re gone. Probably went in their sleep. Let’s go inside, hm?” He cradled Hesper’s shoulders and hugged her. "I brought things from home for you, then I have to go back to the Bastion. We’re in a dangerous spot, and we can’t waste any more time than we already have.” He pulled her closer to kiss her temple.
The rough tree branch scratched at her fingers as she caressed it. "Cole, this has all been built on assumptions. Jes has supernatural abilities, but why do you believe he is what they have guessed he is? Where is the proof? We cannot control this enough to rely on it.”
“You’re right. We’re trying to understand as we go, but this is a step in the right direction. The source of our troubles is gone. That’s a good thing.”
&n
bsp; Hesper shook her head. “I do not think this is the end of our troubles. It is a bad poem about a sickness. The Kyrios were only a symptom. Life is never so easy.”
Thank You
* * *
To my fellow readers who complete the art of writing by taking it in and experiencing it.
To fellow writers and beta readers who nourished me and my story, guiding us into a healthy growth of artistic freedom and the development of a stronger craft. If it were not for you, I may never have accomplished this.
Carla Glover, Anne Wheeler, Erin Maruska, Annie Hara, Clay Hardy, Carol Beth Anderson, Her Supreme Reading Magnificence Shannonononon, Caith Esra, Britta Sorenson, Ruth Behnke, Aaron VanDeBogert, Judy Himsl, Eve Cammon, Heather Kam, Meghan Tomlinson, Lia London, Jennifer A. Dege, Anna Lee, Christina Goebel, Lexi Kenan, Sonja Greer.
To Dad for giving me the crazy gene so that I could write a book.
Special thanks to my husband for letting Cole use his poem and for his input, ideas, and time spent reading this with me.
Special thanks to Carla Glover. Girl, after me, you’ve read this story the most. You saw it through so many stages and you’ve always been a willing reader and encourager. You have been a BLESSING and a FRIEND to me and to this story.
Friends of the art, family in the art, I salute you.
About the Author
* * *
Sarah Joy Green-Hart grew up in a restauranteur family in the Northwoods of Wisconsin, waiting tables in between reading, writing, acting, petting cows, and dancing with flocks of cats.
After earning an A.A. in Theology and cultivating an adequate taste for the artistic, the eclectic, and the odd, Sarah’s family—with a proper advanced warning—released the Sarah-Kraken on a gentleman with an affectionate interest in said Kraken.
Sarah now homeschools four wee wolf cubs by day and howls at the bookish moon in her laptop by night with the charming Earl Grey (and a few of his friends) at her side.
Besides the bits and pieces of her soul found in this book, you can also find her on her blog “Shivelighting.”
shivelighting.wordpress.com
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