Winded, gasping for breath, Juanita said, “I go where Kathy goes.”
As Kathy approached Duncan, she said, “There’s a stable not too far ahead. We need to get there.”
Finally catching up with Kathy, Juanita bent over and placed her hands on her knees, gasping.
Up ahead some thirty yards, Chris had caught up with Emilio.
Duncan nodded toward the boy. “The seraph’s inside Emilio, right?”
Kathy shrugged. “Could be.”
“But Gamble thinks it’s in Emilio, too.”
“No,” she said. “He believes it’s in you.”
After Juanita had caught her breath, they started walking. “What do you believe?” Duncan said.
“Only that it’s close,” she said. “Very close.”
Juanita said, “Thee seraph’s our only hope, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
They stopped in front of Emilio. The boy appeared frightened out of his mind, and was signing briskly.
“Slow down, dude,” Chris said.
To Kathy, Duncan said, “What’s he saying?”
Kathy watched him for a moment, then said, “He wants to wake up.”
“Don’t we all,” Duncan said. “How does Gamble plan to get his daughter from you?”
Kathy explained that Gamble would try using the priest first, and that would buy them some time. But that once the priest failed, and she was most assured he would as there was already a contingency plan in affect for him, Gamble would most likely come after her himself, or that his daughters would, and that either scenario was not a comforting one.
“Where’s this stable you were talking about?” Duncan said.
She pointed. “Just over the hill.”
“What’s so special there? Horses?”
“No,” she said. “It’s long abandoned. But there’s a tunnel there we can hide in.”
“I don’t think a tunnel is going to hide us very well from Gamble,” he said.
She took Emilio’s hand and started walking. “It’ll do, for now.”
“Hold up a second,” Duncan said. “I’m confused. How did you know about the stable in the first place? I mean, how did you know the world was going to change from Dali’s Africa to the Pacific Northwest, let alone know the neighborhood?”
“Amy told me.”
“Okay, then how did she know?”
“She’s an angel.”
Duncan rolled his eyes. “Oh, of course. How silly of me.”
13.
Naked, Amy stared at the thousands of dead worms cloaking her, plaintive over Melanie’s loss.
She crinkled her nose, the putrid smell overpowering.
“For a sneaky little bitch,” Gamble said, suddenly perched on a low, thick branch above her, “you sure can play the organ. Forgive my surprise, but it’s just that I thought a harp would have been your instrument of choice.”
“Sticks and stones,” Amy replied, not bothering to look up. “Besides, you put on some show yourself. ‘I distilled its blood and made oil for the creaking cogs of time’…‘I was there and wove its suffering cries into chain mail.’ Give me a break.” She finally turned, loathing him. “But what you did to those five boys was inexcusable.”
He laughed. “All for Chris’s benefit. And Juanita’s, to be sure. Oh, how I do love a melodrama. And judging by that spiffy cape you were wearing, and its incriminating intentions, one might suspect that you have a penchant for theatrics, as well—all because we wouldn’t want to raise anyone’s suspicions that there might be something going on between us, right, Liberace? Don’t forget, my stage mask may be tragedy—but not nearly as tragic as the truth that I did, in fact, slaughter all but one of your ancestors.”
She stared up at him now, grinning. “And you almost screwed it for yourself, didn’t you? Found out almost too late that the only way you were ever going to get the Key to the Shallows was through one of the seraphs. After rifling through God’s pockets—and don’t think for a second that it never crossed my mind that you would, despite your promise to the contrary—you found that even He doesn’t own a set. So now I’m your only hope of ever seeing eternal rein. At least in your manmade part of the kingdom.”
“Only temporary housing,” he assured, then jumped from the tree. “Need I remind you what a real sport I’ve been throughout this whole affair? I’ve refrained from making things difficult. And don’t you think for a second that it never crossed my industrious mind to do so. I’ve obliged you in every way, half-breed. I’ve left your proxy family virtually untouched, along with your globular maid, who believes she’s on some holy crusade for the Virgin Mary. And not only have I refrained from turning Chris and his surfboard into chum, I’ve left Patricia Bently alone with her grief.” He stepped closer, his lips stretching across his face. “But now, you show up in Wonderland and allow Chris to hook your housekeeper up to something that, I strongly suspect, might be integral to finding the seraph’s whereabouts. Now, why you would entrust such a power to a flabby fleshsack such as Juanita?”
“You play your little games,” she said. “We play ours.”
“Yes, but the simple fact is, I’m tiring of the games,” he said, angrier now.
She finally stood and wheeled on him. “I said you could have your apocalypse in exchange for your promise to leave God alone.”
“It’s not the Almighty I’m after,” he said, “as you so very well know. Furthermore, in light of your own deceitful ways, I believe it’s time you confirm for me the whereabouts of the last seraph. That, or personally give me the Key, or give me back my remaining daughter. If you don’t comply to any of these requests, then I’ll have no other choice but to end this miserable stalemate by finally destroying you and your mongrel cousins, and your merry band of misfits.”
She laughed. “And forever lose the Shallows? I hardly think so. Besides, if you really think you can take us on, then you’d better pack a lunch. You just might discover that we’re not the pushovers of old.”
“I might be testing that theory sooner than you think.” He grinned. “The seraph, the Key, or my daughter. If you really want to score some points, all of the above.”
“Even with seven, you have nothing,” she lied.
“Oh, I heartily disagree,” he said. “Seven’s such a magical number.”
“Look, I’ve stuck to my end of the deal by letting you have your Armageddon. Do to the world what you may. But if you break your end of the deal again by harassing God, and that goes for the clone god, too, or try and remove your daughter from Katherine, then my ‘mongrel cousins’ will remodel your world so completely that even your memory won’t reflect on the newly waxed floors.”
“Oh, please. And if memory serves me correctly, you’ve yet to answer the question I posed in the beginning. Why would God appoint a bunch of conscientious objectors to guard the Shallows and its eternal waters?”
Amy didn’t answer.
“I’ll tell you why,” Gamble said. “Because He never perceived my kind of threat. And let me remind you, sweet little Amy, that your tinkering of so-called time has yet to yield the desired results. I am still here, yes? And we both know that the more you indulge that fallacy-laden concept, the more degraded it will become until, finally, you will no longer be able to navigate within its stream effectively.” He brushed his right fingers against the material of his jacket, taking a moment to admire his nails’ restored luster. “As for God and your pacifistic subordinates, well...they don’t even register on my shit meter.”
Amy sighed. “Are you finished?”
“Not yet,” he said. “You see, I’ve begun realizing that the reasons for your ventures in ‘time’ aren’t all what I initially thought them to be. For instance, that each trip has been an exercise in deception, to hide the seraph in a new place, and always in a different time, simply to keep me guessing. But what you’ve really been doing is trying to teach an old dog new tricks. Like letting it live inside a juvenile delinquent of some
caliber. Oh yes, I know all about the boy, among many others. Of course, since I don’t share this miscreant ability of yours, I’ll be left to my own suspicions. As for the last seraph, I believe that it remains in your father. Oh, I imagine that it ventures out from time to time, as I’ve just proposed, but it roosts there. You see, I’ve searched every other mind in existence, and Daddy Duncan’s is the only one I can’t get in. I’ve run into minds like his before, down through the years. I know the game.”
Amy said nothing.
“Gotta hand it to him, though,” he continued, “that’s one hell of a wall he’s built. Just like the boy had at one time. But now I really do believe there’s a fortress behind those battlements, and not just subterfuge. And do you know what? I think I may have finally found a way to scale those walls and rescue the maiden from the tower.”
“Not without my help, you can’t.”
“Ooooh, Mommy, I’m scared,” he said, shivering. “We used to call the seraphs the poltroons of creation, the whales of eternity. But you and I and that one remaining seraph all have something in common. Although the womb within which you were conceived was a biological one, mine idealistic, and the last seraph’s, I suspect, now a combination of both, we all share the same mother, more or less.” He folded his arms proudly. “The stork dropped us all on the doorstep of Man.”
“The point is, you can’t be sure. And when you finally do realize just what did happen with the last seraph, you’ll be begging it to pull its foot out of your ass.”
“I sincerely doubt it,” he said. “Just like you, it hasn’t the nerve, despite your efforts to teach it aggression. Its heart is simply not in the game.” He adjusted the knot in his tie. “Now, as you can see, I’ve gained my sixth daughter. All I have left to do is get my remaining daughter from that fleshsack Katherine.” He shook his finger. “Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice...
“Now, if you ever want to see your friends and family again in one piece, adhere to my requests.”
She glowered at him. “If you so much as look at them wrong—”
“My dear angel, your threats have become as wearisome as your attempts at hiding the seraph. I now have Duncan where I want him, as well as Katherine Bently.”
She bowed her head. “I’m tired, Gamble. I just want an end to the whole damn thing.”
“I thought hell would have come to your rescue by now,” he said. “Seems I gave those boys more credit than they deserve.”
“You just haven’t backed me far enough into a corner yet,” she said. “But I don’t want things to go that far. That’s an IOU I can live without.”
“I imagine it is,” he said. “Come, let’s make a deal. You give me Katherine and unimpeded access to the Shallows, and I’ll let you and the rest of your half-breed family have God and all the acres of heaven. You have my word, as a gentleman.”
“Your word as a gentleman, to leave God alone? Both of them?”
He placed a hand over his heart. “My word.”
“Alright,” she said. “You can have Katherine. As you know, the Key to the Shallows can only be gotten from the seraph. Juanita is the only one who can release it. We’ll meet you at priest’s old launching pad.”
“You do know that I’ll have to kill it to get the Key.”
She met his gaze. “Yes, I’m aware of that.”
“Just so long as you are.” He smiled winningly. “Very well, then. At the cliffs. Bring everyone. It’ll be a party.” He began walking away. “Oh, and one more thing—put on some clothes. You wouldn’t want to embarrass Mummy and Daddy, would you?”
14.
Josephine Kagan was more than pleased with the change of scenery. That weird old African stuff was for the birds. She was still in front of the sanctuary, steadfast and true. She was a trooper.
She missed Jacob and called out for him again.
Something fluttered then, something behind her, on the gate. She turned and found another piece of paper speared upon a vertex of metal.
TIME TO PUSH THE LITTLE RED BUTTON, DEAR
YOURS FOREVER, GAMBLE
She wadded up the paper and tossed it over her shoulder. She then walked over and pressed the little red button.
That wasn’t so hard.
The massive gate began to open outward. Slowly at first, the creatures began to muster near the entrance, then trickle out one by one.
Josephine banged the gate with her cane. “Come on, come on, what are ya waitin’ for!”
The herd began to move faster. Soon there was a stampede of creatures great and not so great charging through the massive opening, their cries deafening over the thunder of their feet.
Josephine clamped her hands to her ears, stumbled backward. It was an astonishing sight to behold.
It felt like she’d watched the commotion for a good fifteen minutes before the last one came out, stopped, regarded her with a quizzical expression, then loped over to her and, with startling swiftness, devoured her in one single bite.
15.
Whimpering, on his knees, Eli scratched at the grass, listening to the surf below. It had a calming effect. And the mild breeze washed over his sweaty torso and brow, cooling him.
His mighty wings were gone, and so was the vocalizing that had sprung from them. But now he was without power. He had tried repeatedly to conjure a new pair. But without success. It seemed that Gamble was the only one who could fit him with new ones.
He was useless without his wings.
The boy and the others had a major head start on him now. How was he going to chase them down? He could run after them, but where was the supremacy in that?
Gamble was going to be hugely pissed at him. But what could he do? For all he knew, this was just another test, another trial by fire set by Gamble’s own incendiary hand. Another riddle, another conundrum, another fucking infantile limerick that he was supposed to solve.
But this one made no sense whatsoever. Why let him taste the wonders of flight, then take the gift away so quickly, so cruelly?
What had he done to deserve this punishment?
He gazed into the sky and wished a moon upon the stratus. Suddenly there appeared a gray crescent, mordacious upon the blue sky. He then imagined Zeus fast about in a fiery chariot. Not two hundred feet above him roared a sleigh, arcing across the sky, pulled by a hundred flaming horses, and at the reins was a long-bearded god adorned in lambent white robes and a golden crown.
He could conjure anything. Except a pair of wings.
What were his options?
Wings. That was his only option, to have a mighty pair lift him into the heavens once more.
Did he dare summon his mentor?
Yes, he would have to risk losing face. Or more. There was just no other way.
He stood, then reached for the sky. “Gamble! Come! I need you now!”
16.
Tyler saw her coming before she had a chance to knock. Now in blue jeans and a white tank top, Amy McNeil stood in her adult form in front of the open doors of the bus. Her hair was shoulder-length, strawberry blonde, and the sunlight pranced along the fibers of red as the breeze lifted and parted the strands. The freckles on her face were now more prominent around her pug nose than on her cheeks, as they had been when she was a little girl. Her eyes had changed from aquamarine to the deepest, cobalt blue, her eyebrows thin and silver-blonde. She looked to be around twenty-five.
“Hi, Tyler,” she said. “I see the seraph’s been good to you.”
He smiled, as if he’d been expecting her. “Got me out of the ground for awhile. Come on up.”
Rachel and Patricia were already on their feet.
Squinting, Rachel stared at the woman. “Oh...my...God,” she said. “Is that you, Amy?”
“It’s me, Mom.”
Eyes welded to her daughter’s maturated image, Rachel slowly, gropingly, sat back down. “My, you’ve...you’ve grown up...fast.”
Amy looked down, as if ashamed. “Not fast enough. We have
to leave now; you, me, and Patricia. Tyler’s staying on the bus.”
The adoration in Rachel’s eyes conceded to the inevitable. “Okay,” she said. “Where are we going?”
“To meet Gamble,” Amy said. “Not too far from here. It’s in walking distance.”
Still standing, Patricia said, “Where are the others?”
“They’re safe. They’ll meet us there. Kathy knows the way.”
In a long-suffering sigh, Rachel said, “This is it, isn’t it? This is where it all comes together?”
“It’ll be a showdown,” Amy assured.
Rachel, straightening her already taut posture, said, “I...I just can’t believe how lovely you’ve turned out to be. Your father’s going to be awfully proud, you know.”
She smiled. “I know. Now, we have to go.”
17.
“You rang,” Gamble said. “I must say, Father, that with all of your newly acquired inclinations, one would have imagined a more exotic decor than what you’ve just laid out for us.” He tapped his chin thoughtfully with his forefinger. “But...I have to admit, it is apropos, as it’s come full circle. Yes, I think I’ll let it remain.” He turned to Eli. “I told you you’d have quite the magic wand once you passed through the seventh window, didn’t I?”
Nodding, Eli swallowed hard, wiping away the tears that were streaming down his cheeks. “I...I lost my wings,” he stammered. “I wished them away. They were...infested with...demons.”
“You let a bunch of mongrels get under your skin, Father,” Gamble said, a pitying tone in his voice.
“M-mongrels?” Eli stammered.
“Angels, Father. Given your profession, I’m surprised you didn’t realize it, least of all expect it.”
“Then...it wasn’t you who...did this?”
“Why heavens no,” Gamble said. “Why would you even consider such a thing?”
Immediately ashamed, Eli’s tears began anew. “I tried to make new ones, but I...I can’t seem to—”
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