by S. J. West
“Are you telling me you never plan to open the seals in our world?” I ask hopefully.
“I wouldn’t say never,” Lucifer tells me honestly. “But, if this is the result, it won’t be anytime soon.”
“Why do you do that?” I ask, feeling my heart sink lower inside my chest. “Every time there’s a shred of hope that you’ll change, you grind it under your feet into dust.”
“You should stop trying to change me, Jessica. It’s a lost cause.”
“I don’t believe that.”
“Then you’re a fool. I am who I am, and I make no apologies for that.”
“At least you’re honest,” I say, finding what I just said to be amusing. “Kind of strange, since people call you the great deceiver all the time, don’t you think?”
“People only call me that because they can’t take responsibility for their own actions. I don’t deceive them. They know exactly what it is they’re doing when they enter into a bargain with me. How often have I lied to you?”
“Never, as far as I know.”
“Exactly. Irresponsibility is a human trait. It will lead to their downfall one day. If they allow me to play on their weaknesses, that’s their own fault. Not mine.”
I feel as though we’ve run the course of this conversation, but I don’t want Lucifer to go just yet. He might actually have information that will prove useful to me.
“Is there a way for us to stop the princes from using the trumpets?” I ask him, not expecting help from the devil, but hoping he hates Lucian’s plan enough to want to see it derailed.
“I’m sorry,” Lucifer says to me, looking sincere. “I don’t believe there is.”
“Could you make this the one and only time you lie to me?” I don’t want to believe we don’t have a chance of stopping the end of this world.
“Jessica,” Lucifer says, turning very serious, “we need to leave this world now, before it’s too late. Once the seventh trumpet is blown by Gabriel, you’ll die. All of you will. I couldn’t care less about the others, but I don’t want to see you lose your soul to a lost cause.”
“You know I can’t do that,” I say, wondering if Lucifer knows me at all. “I can’t leave without trying everything possible.”
“Then promise me that, after the fifth trumpet is blown, we will leave. Once it gets that far, there’s nothing that can stop Judgment Day from happening. With Heaven closed off to this world, your soul could be doomed to wander aimlessly here or be drawn down to the depths of Hell. Trust me; you don’t want to be trapped down there. It’s far worse than you could ever imagine it being.”
“Are you trying to scare me into doing what you want?”
“No,” Lucifer says, reaching out to touch my arm, “I’m trying to protect you. I do care what happens to you, Jessica, and being trapped here shouldn’t be your fate. I would drag you home myself if I could, but, as it is, I’ll be trapped here, too, if we stay.”
“Are you worried about me, or yourself?”
“I’m worried about both of us,” Lucifer admits openly. “I have no desire to stay here, and neither should you.”
“Of course I don’t want to stay here, but I’m not leaving until I know there’s nothing else I can do!”
Lucifer studies me for a moment, as if he’s silently debating whether he wants to tell me something. I see his gaze focus on the sword on my back.
“Your sword…it looks different.”
“It is different.”
“How so?”
I tell Lucifer what happened to my sword, and how I obtained my new one.
“Are you going to let Ravan keep your sword?” Lucifer asks.
“Hell no,” I reply, feeling slightly offended that he would even think such a thing. “I’m going to get my sword back, even if I have to rip it out of her cold, dead hands.”
“Well, dead is certainly preferable,” Lucifer agrees, showing no love for Ravan. “Though, you may not have to do it yourself. I don’t see Lucian putting up with her much longer, since she’s served her purpose.”
“He did seem rather annoyed with her the last time I saw them together.”
“Annoyed… a mild way to put it. He hates her.”
My head tilts of its own accord. “Why does he hate her so much?”
Lucifer shakes his head. “It’s a long story. One I would rather not go into. Just trust me when I say there is no love lost between the two of them. Ravan should keep as low a profile as possible while she’s around him. She’s outgrown her usefulness, and Lucian won’t hesitate to kill her if she annoys him too much.”
“Then maybe Lucian will actually do something nice for me for once.”
“Perhaps.”
“So,” I say, knowing our time together is coming to an end, “what was your deal with Mason exactly? I assume you bargained for your permanent release from the cell.”
“I did,” Lucifer confirms. “I also told Mason I would stay here on the island.”
“But you don’t want to do that, do you?” I ask knowingly.
“I would like to continue observing things out in the world for a while, if you don’t mind.”
“Are you asking me for permission?” Amused is too mild a term for the way I feel.
“I don’t like breaking my word once it’s given. I will stay here if I must, but I believe I would be of more use to you out there,” Lucifer says, nodding to the world in general. “Maybe I’ll see something that will help. Maybe I won’t. But keeping me here is ridiculous, Jessica. I’m not your enemy in this reality. The only way I can return to our world is if the rest of you survive, especially you. You’re the key to our return. Use me as one of your instruments to make that happen.”
“Mason isn’t going to like me giving you permission to roam around.”
“No, he won’t. But you and I both know he only sees red where I’m concerned. You’re smarter than that. You don’t see me in such a one-sided way.”
“I’m not sure if that’s good or bad.”
“Neither am I,” Lucifer says truthfully.
I sigh because I know Mason is going to yell at me, but Lucifer made some good points. He will be more useful to me out in the world than he would be trapped here. As it is, I need all the help I can get.
“Go,” I tell him, “but come back at least once a day to let me know if you’ve found anything.”
Lucifer salutes me, like any good little soldier would.
“I shall return as instructed each day.”
“Like you used to on my front porch?” I ask, remembering those times fondly.
“Perhaps…” Lucifer begins, but then seems to think better of what he was about to say. “I’ll see you later, Jessica. Take care of yourself. The worst is yet to come.”
With those less than encouraging words, Lucifer phases to points unknown.
I don’t know if letting him go was the wisest decision, but my heart tells me that it was the right one.
As I walk back up to the castle, the spine-chilling resonance of the second trumpet’s blare fills the air. With my heart pounding inside my chest, I instinctively look up to search the sky for the next stage of the Apocalypse.
CHAPTER TEN
“Jess!” I hear Mason yell frantically.
I look back over to the powerhouse, and see Mason standing where he left me earlier. Before I can even blink, he’s right beside me.
“The second trumpet,” I say. I know Mason understands what it is we’re hearing, but saying it aloud helps me wrap my mind around what’s about to happen next.
“Come on.” Mason grabs one of my hands and phases us to Josh’s computer room. We find Brand and Malcolm already there.
“Can you see it?” Brand asks Josh anxiously as our computer genius feverishly types away on his keyboard.
“Give me a minute,” Josh says, almost sounding irritated for having to take the time to explain things. “Hacking into the Dragon Network’s radar system is harder than hacking into their te
lecommunications.”
“I don’t know if we have a minute, Josh,” Brand’s voice becomes even more frantic. “It’s imperative that we know what direction it’s heading.”
It’s only because I’ve studied the Book of Revelation that I know what the ‘it’ Brand is referring to is.
According to the Bible, after the second trumpet is blown, a large asteroid is supposed to land on Earth. Depending on how large it is, I’m not sure it’s going to matter what direction it comes from. Obviously, it won’t cause a global extinction event similar in scope to the one that obliterated the dinosaurs way back when. We still have four more trumpets destined to be blown. They can’t be used if we’re all dead.
Most of my friends begin to walk in, filling the room to capacity because they want to see what’s going on too. Jered and Tristan even come back from their search for the princes, both looking dejected.
“No luck, I guess,” I say to Jered as we wait for Josh to finish cracking the Dragon Network’s radar system.
“None whatsoever,” Jered confirms, sounding like a defeated man. “Conditions are so bad out there, it’s impossible to do a proper search in all the chaos.”
I knew it would be bad, but, from the look on Jered’s face, I can tell it’s worse than anything I can imagine. I almost feel guilty for having a safe place to stay. Well, I suppose safe is a relative term. There’s no guarantee we’ll be safe for much longer. For all we know, the meteor is heading straight for us. This unsettling thought makes me look over at Josh’s holographic monitor.
Unfortunately, all I see there is a lot of programming code that doesn’t make a lick of sense to me. Considering the way Josh is zipping through it, though, it obviously means something to him.
“There!” Josh says as he bangs his hands against his desk triumphantly.
A 3-D representation of the Earth floats in the air, with the moon slowly revolving around it. Other than that, I don’t see anything to indicate what direction the asteroid is coming from.
“Where is it?” Malcolm asks, taking a step closer to the image of this world, as if it will help him see something that isn’t there.
“Wait,” Brand says, also taking a step closer to the display. “I think I see it coming into view.”
Brand points to something behind the moon and slightly to the left of it.
“Can you tell by its trajectory where it will land, Josh?” Brand asks calmly, in a less than calm situation.
“Yeah,” Josh says, dragging his eyes away from the harbinger of doom. “Give me a few minutes.”
I turn to Mason. “What can we do? Is there any way to stop it?”
“I don’t see how we can stop a meteor hurtling through space from landing,” Mason says, looking worried.
“Jess,” Leah comes up to me, grabbing my arm, “can we destroy it?”
It takes me a moment to understand what she’s saying, but, when the light bulb finally does goes off in my head, I feel a healthy dose of adrenaline flood my body.
“It makes sense,” I say to Mason, who also heard Leah’s suggestion. “If we can annihilate things that aren’t meant to be in this world, and are only brought in because of the princes, maybe we can destroy the asteroid before it lands.”
“You destroyed things the seals brought about, Jess,” Mason reasons. “We have no idea if the same principle applies in this situation.”
“Do you have a better suggestion?” I ask, already mentally going through what needs to be done before Leah and I can try her clever plan.
The look of worry on Mason’s face tells me that he doesn’t.
“I just got you back,” he tells me in an urgent whisper.
“You’re not going to lose me,” I promise him, knowing in my heart that I’m right. “You know we have to try this. Think of all the lives that could be lost if that thing is allowed to make impact. I’m not about to just stand around, twiddling my thumbs, while Lucian strengthens his grip on this world. The souls he could reap from this could reach into the millions, Mason. You know we can’t let that happen.”
“We don’t even know if your new sword will work with Leah’s fire,” Mason points out.
“I feel confident it will. And we have to try something.”
Finally, Mason nods, agreeing that I’m right but still not liking it.
We quickly tell the others what our plan is. No one likes it, of course, but they all know it’s the only option we have that might actually work.
As Leah and I quickly get situated in the harness contraption we used while flying around to kill the infected flocks, Josh works as quickly as he can to determine where it is we need to go.
“You’re going to need to keep as much distance between you and the asteroid as possible,” Mason tells me as he buckles one of the belts tying Leah and I together. “When it comes through our atmosphere, it’s going to be like a huge fireball. You need to stay as far away from it as you can.”
“Right,” I say, taking this information in, since I’m the one in charge of positioning us in the air.
Mason’s hands stop as he begins to tug on a second belt.
“What is it?” I ask, knowing the expression on his face well. “What did you just think of?”
“If this doesn’t work,” he says, fastening the belt more slowly now, “you’ll both end up dying when it strikes the ground. You won’t have time to fly out of the impact zone. Maybe I should come with you, so I can phase you away if something goes wrong.”
I look over at the holographic representation of the Earth, and see that the asteroid is practically touching the Earth’s atmosphere now.
“We don’t have time to strap you to me,” I tell him. “Besides, if you were attached to my back, I would lose a lot of maneuverability. We’re just going to have to have a little faith that this will work.”
“I’m trying to, Jess,” Mason says, but he isn’t able to hide how upset he is.
“Close your innocent eyes, Leah,” I warn. “I’m about to give my husband a kiss.”
Mason comes to stand to the left of me. I reach up and caress the side of his face. My eyes begin to tear up when I see that his are already filled with them.
“Don’t you dare cry on me,” I whisper to him. “I’ll be all right.”
Mason doesn’t say anything, because he doesn’t have to. He just nods his head and leans in to kiss me on the lips. It’s a tender kiss, showing his love without him having to say any words.
“I’ve got it!” Josh exclaims.
“Where will it land?” Brand asks anxiously.
Josh gives Brand the piece of paper with the coordinates.
“Malcolm,” Brand says in a composed voice as he continues to look at the piece of notebook paper in his hands, “would you please go to Beijing and tell Daniel to bring Jai Lin here as a precaution?”
Without question, Malcolm phases to do as Brand requested.
“Where is it going to land?” I ask, only knowing that it must be close to China.
“India,” Brand tells me, “but it’s too close to China for me to take a chance with her life.” Brand crumples the piece of paper in his hand and throws it onto Josh’s desk. “Are you ready, Jess…Leah?”
“Let’s do this,” I say, plucking up my courage and focusing my mind on succeeding at the task ahead.
“I’m coming with you,” Mason informs me, and I don’t argue. I might need his advice, and I’ll definitely need his support.
As Mason and I clasp hands, Brand rests one of his on Leah’s shoulder to phase us all where we need to be.
When we get to the location, fires are burning all around us. I practically choke on the thick plumes of smoke as it threatens to fill my lungs. Brand quickly phases to another spot in the same vicinity where the smoke is thinner.
I look around us and feel surprised when I recognize the spot Brand has phased us to.
On one of our whirlwind dates, Mason and I visited the Taj Mahal without the kids. I remember th
inking what a beautiful testament to love it was. On this Earth, it’s been broken in half and lies crumbled in ruins. The once-perfectly manicured gardens surrounding it are burning fiercely. As we all look up into the sky, the asteroid hurtles towards us, taking on the role as a bringer of death. The moon hangs in the sky, like a witness to our imminent demise.
“How much longer before the asteroid enters our atmosphere?” I ask Brand.
“No more than ten minutes,” he warns me.
“And how big is it?” I ask.
“By Josh’s calculations,” Brand hesitates before saying, “it’s almost 1000 meters in diameter.”
“And what sort of damage can that do?” I have to know.
“It would be equivalent to having a thousand nuclear bombs go off at one time in one spot.”
“Ok,” I say, letting out a long breath. “So, basically, this part of India is just going to become one big-ass crater if it lands.”
“Basically,” Brand confirms.
I lean up and give Mason a quick kiss.
“I’ll be back,” I promise him.
Mason squeezes my hand, hard. “I’m counting on it.”
Before I lose my nerve, or any more time, I fly Leah and me straight up into the sky.
“You ok, little sis?” I ask her as we quickly make our ascent.
“Nervous,” she admits.
“Good,” I tell her. “I would be worried if you weren’t.”
As we approach the thin layer of smoke covering the sky, I tell her, “Close your eyes, and hold your breath for as long as you can until we get through this!”
I gulp in enough air to fill my lungs, and close my eyes as we fly through the black layer of smoke. It ends up being thicker than I initially thought it would be, but, just as my lungs begin to burn for more oxygen, we pass through it to the other side, where a clear night sky welcomes us. Traveling to a different part of the world can be a little disconcerting with the differences in time. Even though it’s morning back at the castle, on this side of the world it’s close to midnight.
