The Elder Prophets (To Absolve the Fallen Book 2)

by Aaron Babbitt

  Mary Tanner held tight to her only son, as if something could fly by and snatch him away again. She didn’t know why this had happened, or even what, exactly, was happening. But she knew who was responsible.

  As tears fell onto Alex’s shoulder, Mary whispered, “Thank you, God,” over and over.

  Chapter 5

  Sometimes the past is said to haunt us. There are those who think it is better to live in the moment or focus on the future. I think there is some merit in that, but it would be a crime to forget whence we came. Furthermore, we should never forsake the wisdom passed down to us from those who had to learn the truth firsthand. No matter how different we may be from who we were, our experiences do a great deal to enrich our present and future existence. I have no doubt that we waste our time obsessing over things we can’t change, and we should always strive to see things in a new light, though we live in denial when we choose to ignore our history. I contend that, if the past haunts us, it might have good reason.

  --Abigail Martin, Through the Eyes of a Martyr

  “We thought you were dead,” Alex’s mother stammered. “What happened to your hair?”

  “Mom, we should go inside. I don’t want to discuss this out here.”

  Mary nodded. She walked inside, and Alex followed her. As he shut the door behind them, he had an odd sensation. Everything felt different. It was exactly the way he remembered leaving it, but it just seemed wrong. For a moment, he questioned his decision to come.

  As they walked through the hallway, Alex looked at the pictures hanging on the walls as if he had never seen them before. They represented something completely different to him, now. He had two lives, and he would have to decide how best to live both of them. He wasn’t even sure how he was going to tell his mother.

  “Would you like something to eat?” his mother asked when they got to the kitchen. “A soda?”

  “I’ll get it, Mom. You just sit down.”

  “They found your car. There was a body in it.” She gasped in realization. “Who was in the car?”

  Alex opened the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water. “I don’t know.” He sat down at the table with her. “There are a lot of things about what happened to me that I can’t explain. I’ll tell you what I can, but you’re going to have to be open-minded about this.”

  “Alex,” she said, laughing nervously, “you’re my son. I’ll believe anything you say to me.”

  “Okay,” he said with some resolve. “We’ll start at the beginning.”

  ***

  Renee Dubois saw the Kingstone city limit sign through the window of the cab she was riding in, and a smile slowly formed on her face. She watched the little buildings go by. The “historic” Kingstone downtown must have been thought to add character and class to this Kansas City suburb. To Renee, it seemed indicative of the town’s blindness to the world around it. It was quaint and unsuspecting. Its passive, quiet nature made it a very easy target.

  The driver watched her from his rearview mirror. He admired her short, black hair and her youthful face. He guessed her to be no older than twenty-five.

  “What brings you way out here?” he asked.

  “Business,” she answered, not taking her eyes off little shops that littered the street.

  The driver had noticed her accent at the airport. “Are you from France?”

  “Oui.”

  He laughed. “Are you going to be here for a while?”

  “I don’t know.”

  The driver worked up his courage. “Well, if you’re going to be in town for a few days, maybe I could show you around Kansas City. I know it like the back of my hand.”

  “I think not.”

  Immediately, the driver agreed. It had been a bad idea to ask her. Somehow, he knew that she was far out of his league. He doubted that he could ever stand a chance with her.

  Five minutes later, and after utter silence, the cab driver put the car into park in front a large house, overlooking Kingstone Lake.

  “Forty-two-fifty,” he told her sheepishly.

  She handed him a fifty-dollar bill and opened the door. The rush of cool air was almost refreshing. She had spent most of her life in Paris. The city was dirty, and there were people everywhere. There wasn’t anything in Kingstone. She had seen some cars, as they drove through downtown Kingstone, but she could only remember perhaps a dozen people walking around. She wondered if they were all hiding in their houses. Everything about this place hinted that it would be much different than what she was used to.

  But she was told to meet Yuri here, so she would wait at least that long. The cab driver left as soon as Renee pulled her bags out of the trunk, kicking dust off the road and onto her jeans. She grimaced as she reached down to brush it off. Deciding that this town was also dirty, just in a different way, Renee trudged to the door with a suitcase in each hand.

  She unlocked the door with a key she was given. Everything looked just as she had been told it would. The plan was working out just fine. Now, all she had to do was wait for Yuri. Once he arrived, they could begin their conquest.

  ***

  James Tanner’s tires squealed as he rounded the corner, blasting past a stop sign. He could not believe what he had just been told. His speed had topped out at ninety miles per hour in some places on the highway.

  She had said, “Jim, honey, Alex is alive.”

  He remembered that he had been rendered speechless by that.

  She continued by saying, “He’s here...at the house.”

  “Mary,” he had replied tiredly, “what do you mean?”

  “James, you’re going to think I’m crazy until you come home. I’m not crazy. This isn’t a dream. I haven’t been doing any drugs. Our son is standing in front of me...alive.”

  He remembered wanting to be discreet with this phone call. It seemed very possible that his wife was having a long-overdue breakdown. He walked to his office door and quietly shut it.

  “Mary, I’m going to be home soon. Everything’s going to be okay.”

  “Jim, I’m not crazy. But, if you don’t believe me, you can talk to him.”

  There was a short pause, and Jim heard, “Dad?”

  He had felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. It was undoubtedly Alex’s voice. “Alex,” he whispered, “is that really you?”

  “Yeah, Dad, it’s me. We kind of need you at home.”

  Alex’s father did not remember the trip he took to get from his office to his car, any conversations he may have had with his coworkers, or the highway he sped down to get to his house. He’d even forgotten to turn the car off, after he threw it into park in the driveway. But, for the rest of his life, he would never forget the scene of his son and wife sitting next to each other at the kitchen table.

  ***

  Salmar cleared his throat. “Well, Zeng Wei is busy with the Lama issue. I’ve spoken with him, and he doesn’t think that situation will be completely resolved any time soon. Sophie will not work with Jeremiah.”

  Abbie nodded. “Yes. She indicated as much to me too. Nagina said that she was also helping with the training and protection of the new Dalai Lama—as India is somewhat reliant upon the strength of that religion, but she should be here within a week.”

  “Who does that leave?”

  Abbie sighed. “I had hoped that I could find more, but almost all of the others are lost to us. I have confirmed three deaths: Swift Hawk, Juliana, and Khalid.”

  “Then, that only leaves one. Right?”

  “Yes,” Abbie agreed.

  “I know you don’t like him, but--”

  “Salmar, he’s dangerous. He’s unpredictable, the exception to every rule. His insanity makes him just as likely to side with the opposition.”

  “We must at least invite him to the meeting.”

  Abbie shook her head. “He has never been involved in our business for a reason.”

  “Abbie, he is an Elder Prophet.”

  “Only by age. He doesn’t e
ven believe in any higher being.”

  Salmar laughed. “I realize that. But it was you who taught me that the difference in people’s beliefs make us all a little more real. Besides, he is the eldest under you.”

  “That we know of,” Abbie added.

  “Of course, if we can find anyone else, we shall invite them. Though, for the moment, what we have is not enough. If we are able to find him, we should let him know.”

  Abbie thought for a moment, then replied, “I doubt very strongly that Nathan Kindle will join our cause, but I think I can find him if you insist. You have to talk to him, though. It gives me a headache every time I try.”

  Salmar grinned. “I can live with that. Do you have any leads?”

  “Oh, yes,” she said. “In fact, I don’t think he’s very far away. There was once a small town in New Mexico, named Locura. More than a hundred years ago, it was abandoned. The inhabitants claimed that evil spirits haunted the area.”

  “They named it ‘Insanity,’ and they didn’t think there was anything wrong with that?”

  “I imagine he named it that...as a joke. Though, after a couple of generations, the name became pertinent. As the natives’ sanity began to break down, they attributed what they were seeing to divine inspiration. As a general whole, the community was preparing to secede from the United States. The government didn’t take too kindly to that and sent troops to investigate. Hundreds of people died in the encounter, and the town was, unofficially, quarantined.”

  “Why do you think he’s still there?”

  “My sources have informed me that no less than five U.S. fighter jets have inexplicably crashed in that area, their pilots never found. Those who went looking for the missing pilots have all gone mad.”

  Salmar nodded solemnly. “I think you’re right. That seems to be the most logical place to find him.”

  “It defies logic to find him,” Abbie corrected. “He drove those poor souls insane because he wanted privacy. Bringing him here is not a good idea.”

  “He won’t go where he doesn’t want to. If we can persuade him that this choice is the best, he shouldn’t lash out at us.”

  Abbie laughed. “You’re trying to predict him. That is an exercise in futility.”

  “Many would say that fighting demons for control of this planet is an exercise in futility.”

  “And it may well be if we’re fighting alongside Nathan.”

  ***

  After a tear-filled reunion between father and son, Mary Tanner prompted, “Alex, tell your father what you just told me.”

  “Dad, this isn’t going to be easy for you to hear, but I thought it should come from me.”

  “Alex,” his dad said, laughing nervously, “whatever it is can wait until later.”

  “No, James,” Mary told him, “you need to hear this.”

  “Twenty-one days ago, I was taken from Kingstone.”

  “Who took you?” his father demanded.

  “His name is Jeremiah. Dad, he’s a demon.”

  “Anyone who would kidnap a child is. We need to contact the police.”

  Alex breathed deeply. “No. I mean he is literally a fallen angel.”

  “Alex, you’ve been through a lot--”

  “Yes, I have,” Alex interrupted, “and so have you. But, right now, I need you to set aside any skepticism that you might have and listen to me.

  “Jeremiah took me away from you because I’m a prophet. He needs my help to defeat other demons. He has recruited the help of several prophets and gathered them in Las Vegas.”

  Alex’s father walked over to the phone, and Alex heard him press three buttons before putting the receiver to his ear. When Alex appeared in front of him, James dropped the phone. Alex picked it up, pressed “end,” and replaced the receiver.

  His father’s eyes grew wide with budding realization.

  “Since I left,” Alex continued, “my powers have been growing.”

  “I don’t understand,” James stammered.

  “There is a world around us that we couldn’t see before,” Alex explained. “Religions dilute it, so, at best, we only half-believe it. But it’s real. And it’s about to become a very real part of the world you live in.”

  “Alex,” his mother said, “you have to understand how hard this is for us to conceptualize.”

  “Oh, I do,” Alex verified. “It was hard for me, too. But our enemies have chosen to use Kingstone against me, to use you against me. I came back to protect you.”

  “There has to be another explanation,” Alex’s father muttered to himself. “This is a dream,” he said sadly. “I’m going to wake up, and my son will still be dead.”

  Alex shook his head. “This isn’t a dream, and I’m not dead. It’s not safe for you two to stay here. They know who we are, and they’re very dangerous. I can arrange for you to move to Las Vegas. Jeremiah can protect you there.”

  “Alex,” his mother said after a silence, “I believe you. I think that God has very big plans for you. I don’t know anything about demons or angels, but I’m not leaving.”

  “Neither am I,” his dad added. “I just got my son back. I’m not going to lose you again. If anyone wants to hurt you, they’ll have to get through me.”

  Alex’s eyes watered up. It had seemed like years since he felt safe. But he knew that this was only an illusion. There wasn’t anything his parents could do to protect him.

  “I want you to leave,” Alex repeated, turning his eyes away. “It just isn’t safe here.”

  In truth, at the moment, Alex wanted nothing more than for his parents to stay. He wanted to feel like he belonged and that he was loved, but he couldn’t bring himself to make a sacrifice of their lives.

  His mother placed her hand on his face and made him look at her. “Alex, I don’t care what’s out there. I’m not going to let anything hurt you. We aren’t going to run away to Las Vegas and leave you here. God has given your father and me a chance to be with our son. I’m not about to go hundreds of miles away—not even if Satan, himself, were in Kingstone.”

  By this point, tears were pouring down Alex’s face. “They’re in Kansas City. They may even be in Kingstone. You two mean too much to me.”

  His father walked up beside him. “And you mean too much to us. I don’t know what’s happening, but I will be here to see it.”

  Alex thought about telling his parents all of what he had learned from Sophie, but it seemed like they’d had enough for one day. Whether or not they actually believed him, Alex never wanted this moment to end. He decided he would tell them tomorrow. They may not need to know tonight, but they did need to know.

  ***

  “What’s new in the world?” a short, fat, bespectacled man asked of Jeremiah.

  Jeremiah sighed audibly. The plane had not been in the air for fifteen minutes, and the moron next to him wanted to start small talk. Matt and Elizabeth had two seats in the next row back, while he had to endure the inane babbling of this fool.

  Jeremiah lowered the newspaper he was reading to look at the idiot and asked, “Excuse me?”

  “Anything interesting?” The other indicated the paper.

  “In this?” Jeremiah said, as he went back to reading it. “Nothing.”

  “My name’s Greg Lewis.”

  “Greg?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why are you talking to me?”

  The man looked stunned; his cheeks started to turn red. “It’s just friendly conversation.”

  “You’re scared of flying,” Jeremiah told the short man.

  “I wouldn’t say scared,” the man protested.

  “You don’t need to lie to me. I don’t care. But you have probably dug holes in the armrests with your fingernails. I can sense that you have not been on planes very often, so let me fill you in on an unwritten rule. People who don’t seem to want to talk shouldn’t be bothered.”

  “Hey, man. It’s going to be a long flight. I was just trying to--” the man said before hi
s eyes slowly closed and he fell into a deep sleep.

  Jeremiah never even took his eyes away from the newspaper.

  Elizabeth leaned forward and asked him, “What are we going to do about Alex?”

  He sighed, folded the newspaper up, and set it in his lap. “I don’t know. This wasn’t supposed to happen yet.”

  “I’m going,” Matt declared.

  Jeremiah turned to look at him. “What?”

  “To Kingstone,” Matt continued. “Alex is going to need help.”

  Elizabeth touched his shoulder. “Matt, you can’t.”

  Matt smiled sadly. “I have to. Somehow, I know she’s right. It’s going to be dangerous, but he can’t do it alone.”

  “You’re out of your mind,” hissed Jeremiah. “You know we can’t fortify Kingstone.”

  “Yeah,” Matt said. “I know. But we were supposed to help Alex do what he needs to do. I’m supposed to protect him. I can’t do that very well from Nevada. If Kingstone is where we need to be, we should go there, despite the risks.”

  “Patheus is twenty miles away,” Jeremiah reminded them. “His goal is to use that town against us, and you are playing into his hand.”

  “What do you suggest, Jeremiah?” Elizabeth asked. “Abandoning it?”

  “I didn’t say that. I am merely pointing out that we cannot do anything about it at the moment. And what Matt is thinking about is suicide. Sophie made that clear.”

  “She didn’t say that death would be immediate,” Matt replied. “We’re all going to die at some point, Jeremiah. And I’ve always known that my life would be short—even as a little kid. If I am going to continue to fight demons, eventually I will die for it. I would like my death to count for something. I feel compelled to fight for Alex. He is a cause I think I could be happy dying for.”

  “Don’t talk like that,” Liz said, blinking back tears. “Don’t even think like that.”

  Jeremiah closed his eyes. “Matt, I’m not going to tell you what to do. It’s not my place anymore. But I’m asking you to respect my wisdom. Things will be better if you, Alex, and everyone else stay together in Las Vegas.”