Judgment (The Alternate Earth Series, Book 3)

by S. J. West

  “I can understand that,” Tristan replies. “If I fell in love with someone, I would want to live out a normal life with them, too. However, I don’t see that happening anytime soon.”

  “Especially not with you living out in the boonies of Russia. How long do you plan to stay out there, anyway?”

  “I honestly don’t know,” Tristan admits. “I feel safe out there. I guess I’ll stay until I don’t feel that way anymore. At least I know I won’t hurt anyone where I am, and I don’t have to be locked inside a cage every night.”

  “Yeah, I can see how that would be something you wouldn’t want to give up.”

  I make a mental note to keep track of Tristan over the next few years.

  I want him to succeed in his mission to save his brother… maybe even his father, but I don’t want to see him waste his life on hopeless pursuits. He’s too good a person not to find a nice girl to settle down with and start a family of his own. I don’t plan to rush him, though. I know his choices will lead him down the right path. Besides, who knows, maybe he’ll be fortunate enough to recognize his soulmate one day.

  “Hey,” Leah says, walking out of the kitchen and catching us lurking in the hallway, “we have a lot of plates made up if the two of you want to help hand them out.”

  “Sure thing, little sis,” I say, looking at the solitary plate and glass of water in her hands. “Who is that for?”

  Leah hesitates before answering, “Sophia.”

  Well, speak of the devil.

  “Why don’t you let me take that down?” I say, not so much as a suggestion but as a fact of what I am going to do. “I wouldn’t mind having a few words with her.”

  “Should I be worried about her safety?” Leah asks, handing me the plate and glass.

  “No,” I assure her. “I just want to talk to her. Why don’t you help Tristan while I’m gone?”

  I don’t wait for an answer. I just head straight to the basement and into the graviton cage, where I was told Sophia was being kept.

  I find her sitting on the cot behind the bars. When she looks up to see who stepped through the door, I can tell by the look of surprise on her face that she wasn’t expecting to see me.

  “I brought you something to eat,” I tell her, closing the outer door to the large graviton cage.

  Sophia stands from her seat, straightening her dark green and yellow leather jacket before walking up to the bars.

  “I’ve heard the trumpets being blown,” she says to me, looking as ashamed as she should be. “What’s going on out there?”

  “Besides this world quickly meeting its doom? Well, let’s see…the first trumpet brought some earthquakes and, oh yeah, it rained blood. The second one made an asteroid appear out of thin air and almost destroyed India and parts of China, but Leah and I were able to take it out before that happened. What in the hell the third trumpet did exactly, I don’t know yet. All I saw were green stars falling from the sky. Oh, and guess what? The moon was torn into two halves. I think you just felt the half that floated free crash to earth. Now you’ll only ever have half a moon floating in the sky. But who knows how long that will last? In the grand scheme of things, it might not even matter, because this world seems destined for complete annihilation.”

  “I had to help Logan,” Sophia says as tears spill from her eyes. “I thought we would have time to stop them from using the trumpets.”

  “Well, you thought wrong, because they’re blowing them quicker than a kid with a fresh piece of gum blows bubbles. It looks like you gave Lucian exactly what he needs to doom us all, Sophia.”

  “What else was I supposed to do?” she cries. “They were torturing Logan. You would have done the same thing in my place.”

  “Maybe,” I relent, “but I hope I would have had enough common sense to trust my friends to help me make the right decision. You didn’t even attempt to tell one of us what was going on, Sophia, and look where your recklessness has gotten us! This world is dying, and it’s partially your fault. You can’t deny that, so don’t even try to rationalize what you did. I understand the love a mother has for her child, but maybe you should have thought things through first. Every decision we make has consequences, especially considering the state of things here. It’s just that your choice decided the fate of this world, and not for the better.”

  “I know,” Sophia says remorsefully. “And if I could go back in time with the knowledge I have now, I would make a different decision. But I can’t do that, Jess. I have to live with what I did, for the rest of my life. The lives and souls that have already been lost because of what I did will always haunt me. You may never be able to forgive me, but I want you to know that I’ll never be able to forgive myself either.”

  I know Sophia isn’t a horrible person. She just made a cataclysmically bad choice. Who of us hasn’t done that at some point in our lives? It’s the fact that her unilateral decision signed this world’s death certificate that is unpardonable. I don’t see how we’ll be able to stop what’s already been set into motion. Barring some miracle, I fear our time here has been a wasted effort.

  Not having much else to say to her, I slide her plate underneath the bars and hand her the glass of water through them.

  I turn to leave, but stop at the sound of Sophia’s voice.

  “Have you seen Logan?” she asks me hopefully.

  I turn around. “No. I haven’t seen her yet. Is she supposed to be here?”

  “Yes. She and Dillon should be here somewhere. I just wanted to know if she was all right.”

  “No one has told me otherwise. I would assume if something happened to them, I would have been told, but I’ll check on them for you, if you want.”

  “I would appreciate that,” Sophia says with a melancholy smile.

  As I exit the graviton cage, I can’t help but feel sorry for Sophia. I understand the strength of a mother’s love; it’s what brought back my memories. But what she did is inexcusable in my eyes, and could very well spell the end of us all.

  When I close the door to the graviton cage, I hear a familiar voice say, “Are you feeling any better?”

  I look up and see Lucifer sitting on the steps leading up to the first floor. He’s leaned over with his elbows resting on his thighs, looking at me with concern.

  “Yes,” I tell him. “I survived. I guess I don’t have to tell you what happened.”

  “No,” Lucifer says. His eyes study me carefully, as if he’s searching for any injury to my body. “I saw what happened. I was there.”

  “I didn’t see you.”

  “You were a little preoccupied at the time,” he points out with a half-smile. “I’m glad to see you made it without any permanent damage.”

  I fall silent for a while, because I hate to admit what I’m about to say.

  “You might be right,” I tell him.

  Lucifer sits up at this news. “Do tell. What am I right about?”

  “We may not be able to stop what’s going to happen here,” I say, feeling like a miserable failure. “Maybe this is what’s supposed to happen on this Earth.”

  “That very well could be, Jessica,” Lucifer says, agreeing with me, but not as wholeheartedly as I expected him to.

  “You’ve thought of something we can do, haven’t you?” I ask, my heart racing because I know I’m right.

  “Perhaps,” Lucifer says reluctantly. “But it’s a last resort measure, and not one you’ll want to take.”

  “What is it?” I ask desperately. Any kernel of hope is something I need to grab onto.

  “I’ll tell you when there’s no more hope left, Jessica. Not until then,” Lucifer says.

  “Why?”

  “Because you’re not going to like what has to be done. You have until the fifth trumpet is blown. After that, I’ll tell you what you will have to sacrifice to save this world.”

  “Why do you always mention the fifth trumpet? Why not the sixth?”

  “Because I don’t see Lucian waiting very lo
ng after the sixth trumpet is sounded to have Gabriel bring about Judgment Day. And you’ll need time to decide how much this world and its people mean to you.”

  “Do you think your plan will work?”

  “I’m certain of it,” Lucifer says, without a shred of doubt. “Whether or not you’re strong enough to let it happen is another question.”

  “Why don’t you tell me?” I ask, frustrated with him. “If we can do it now and end things, we should.”

  “As I said, after the fifth trumpet is blown, I will tell you what must be done. Not until then, Jessica, so stop asking.”

  “You infuriate me sometimes,” I say, unable to keep my aggravation with him out of my voice.

  Lucifer grins. “I know.”

  It’s obvious I won’t be able to get anything else out of Lucifer, so I don’t even try. Nevertheless, he has a plan. Apparently it’s one I won’t like, but at least someone has thought of a way to save this world, even if it is Lucifer.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  When I go upstairs, I run into someone I didn’t expect to see at the castle: Xavier.

  “You look a lot better than the last time I saw you,” I comment dryly.

  Xavier smiles. “I’ve always considered my chest my best physical feature, but I suppose it doesn’t work without a head attached to my neck.”

  “A head helps,” I agree.

  “So your memory is back, I hear.”

  I nod. “Yes. I’m better now. Thank you for taking care of me while Lucian was parading me around like his prized pet at the party.”

  “It was my pleasure, and protecting you actually helped me earn more of Lucian’s trust. Having my head ripped off while protecting you in his place has proven to be advantageous, in more ways than one.”

  “How?” I ask, noticing a twinkling in Xavier’s eyes, like he has a secret he’s dying to tell me. “What have you learned?”

  “I can tell you that it will be a while before the fifth trumpet is blown. You sort of forced Lucian’s hand by destroying that asteroid the way you did. He wasn’t planning on sounding the fourth one so soon, but he became so incensed over your interference that he blew it himself. Plus, I think he feared you would interfere with what ended up happening to the moon. He didn’t want you to make the pieces that crashed to earth go poof, too.”

  “Hello, Xavier,” Mason says as he comes to stand with us.

  “Is the evacuation over?” I ask my husband.

  “We got out as many people as we could find from the mines,” Mason tells me, hinting that not everyone could be saved.

  I decide to change the subject because, if I dwell on those who have died, I’ll get upset.

  “Xavier was just telling me that Lucian plans to hold off on blowing the fifth trumpet for a while.”

  “I thought he would want to end things as quickly as possible,” Mason says to Xavier, perplexed about the delay.

  “He wants to enjoy the fruits of his labor first,” Xavier begins to explain. “Plus, he thinks waiting will give him the power to dig down into the deepest bowels of Hell after he blows the fifth trumpet.”

  “What exactly does he want to bring up from Hell?” Mason asks.

  Xavier shrugs. “I don’t know. He isn’t saying. All he’s told us is that it will be like literally having Hell visit Earth.”

  “Hell visit Earth?” I ask, baffled by the wording. “You make it sound like Lucian views Hell as a real person or something.”

  “You know, sometimes I think he does.” Xavier shakes his head in dismay, as if he thinks Lucian is a fool. “Every once in a while he’ll refer to it as ‘she’, for whatever reason. I don’t know. Maybe he actually has lost his mind.”

  “Was there ever any doubt about that?” I ask, not as a joke because I’m completely serious.

  “Not really,” Xavier agrees. “He’s always been a bit off his rocker, but lately it seems to be getting worse.”

  I notice Nina walk in through the front door, looking somewhat puzzled about something.

  “What’s wrong Nina?” I ask her as she comes to stand with us.

  “Well, besides the world coming to an end, I think I just figured out what those green stars did.”

  “Wonderful,” I say sarcastically, knowing whatever it is won’t be good. “What were they for?”

  “Planting.”

  “Planting?” I ask, to confirm I heard her correctly. When Nina nods, I have to ask, “Planting what, exactly?”

  “You really need to come outside to see it for yourself,” she tells us. “I could tell you, but seeing it would be better.”

  The three of us follow Nina outside. When I see the river, I begin to wonder if there’s something wrong with my eyesight.

  “What is that? Grass?” I ask, staring at the large green clumps of some leafy plant now growing in the St. Lawrence River.

  “Wormwood,” Nina answers. “More specifically, Artemisia pontica.”

  “Ok,” I say, thinking back to what I know about the Book of Revelation. “I know wormwood is supposed to be poisonous to the water supply, but I never looked into why. I honestly didn’t think things would get this far. I had hoped we would be able to stop one of the seals from being opened to break the chain of events.”

  “Wormwood excretes an oil which contains a chemical called thujone,” Mason begins to explain. “In small doses, it’s relatively harmless, but in large quantities or taken over an extended period of time, it can cause muscle spasms and convulsions, which can lead to death.”

  “Do you think all of the water on this planet has been poisoned?” I ask.

  “I would wager a large majority of it has been,” Mason replies. “Underground springs and such should be fine, but most people don’t have access to those. At a time like this, people will drink whatever is easiest to find.”

  “Is there anything we can do?” I ask, now understanding why Lucian is so eager to wait a while before blowing the fifth trumpet. He’ll be able to kill a vast portion of the world’s population through their necessity for water. All he has to do is sit back and wait for the bodies to start piling up.

  Mason looks thoughtful about the conundrum we find ourselves in. “There might be one thing we can try…”

  I wait for him to finish his thought but he doesn’t. To prod him along, I ask, “What are you thinking?”

  “Well, I’m wondering if Rafe can do something to ‘heal’ the waters. He’s able to control water, to an extent. We really haven’t tested to see what all he can do with that aspect of his powers.”

  “I don’t see how it could hurt to try,” I say before looking at Nina.

  I don’t have to say anything to her. She phases into the castle, but phases back a few seconds later without Rafe.

  “He said to give him a few minutes,” she reports. “He has a couple more patients to attend to first. He’ll have Malcolm bring him out after he’s finished.”

  I return my attention to the water, and mentally go through any other options we might have at our disposal to get rid of our latest problem. I do consider the possibility of Leah and me using our Heaven’s Fire to get rid of the weeds in the water, but quickly squash that idea. Odds are, we would just evaporate all the water in conjunction with getting rid of the plants. That would just end up causing a whole other set of problems.

  No. Rafe is our safest and best bet to counter this latest move by Lucian and the other princes. I just hope it works.

  “Jess,” Xavier says to me while we wait, “I heard about what Horace did. I want you to know he’ll pay for his betrayal after all of this is over.”

  “What are you going to do?” I ask. “Kill him?”

  “Death isn’t always the worst thing you can do to someone,” Xavier says ominously. “He will be dealt with. You have my word.”

  I nod, trusting Xavier to handle Horace’s punishment. I still can’t believe the Horace of this world betrayed us and made a deal with Lucian in order to get his ring back. I don’t u
nderstand why he didn’t trust us to do it. He must have thought he would gain some brownie points with Lucian for giving him an opportunity to capture me. I hope whatever Xavier’s plans are for Horace are painful and last a very long time.

  About 10 minutes later, Rafe and Malcolm phase in close to our location. We tell Rafe our plan, but he instantly looks doubtful.

  “I’m not sure that’s going to work,” he says. “I can’t ‘heal’ water.”

  “It’s not exactly healing,” Mason says. “Think of it as purifying instead. It’s worth a shot, Rafe. Millions of people will die in the next few days if we don’t figure something out quickly.”

  “Nothing like adding a little more pressure,” Rafe says, not sounding optimistic about his ability to pull off such a miracle.

  Without much faith in himself, or his ability to help solve the problem with the world’s water supply, Rafe walks up to the edge of the island and just stares out at the vast river for a moment. When he scratches his head like he doesn’t know where to start, Nina goes to him.

  “What’s wrong?” I hear her ask him.

  “Look at all this,” Rafe says to her, nodding his head towards the river. “How am I supposed to do something about that?”

  “You’re not,” Nina tells him bluntly. “Haven’t you figured it out yet?”

  Rafe leans forward on his staff as he looks at Nina thoughtfully. “What do you mean?”

  “Your power isn’t really yours.”

  “I know. It’s Raphael’s gift to me.”

  “It’s not really his either.”

  Rafe looks even more confused. “I’m not following you.”

  “All of your powers come from one person: God,” Nina explains. “Now, are you going to stand there and tell me that you don’t think God could heal these waters? Do you think His power is that limited?”

  “Well, no…” Rafe says, standing up straight again.

  “Do you think it was Moses who actually had the power to part the Red Sea with that staff in your hands? He was just a man, Rafe, like you. It was God who actually did the heavy lifting. You need to use the power He’s given you to take the poison out of this river. Stop thinking you’re not powerful enough because you’re just His conduit. He’s the one actually performing a miracle.”