Higgins commanded the men standing in the renovated shed to guard the door while he spoke to Mr. Tanner.
Once they had left, Higgins turned to James. “I’m sure it must be difficult for you to be in this position. This is not the best time for Alex to be establishing his independence, but I need you to understand this from my perspective.
“I can’t stop him. I don’t have the authorization to confine him to the house or this property. The person who pays me, and the one who makes all of this possible, purposefully gave Alex, Elizabeth, and Matt the authority to make their own decisions. In a very real way, I take orders from them. Before seeing them in action, I questioned the logic of taking orders from children, but not anymore. With Matt Hartley gone, I can’t even appeal to his wisdom.”
Seeing that James was going to interrupt, Higgins waved his hand to stop him and continued, “I don’t want you to think that he is completely unsupervised. As per the orders of Jeremiah, there has never been a time since Alex returned from Vienna that we have not known where he is. As for him leaving, I explained the matter to Sophie and Salmar, but they told me not to worry about it, that everything that is happening was expected. I have learned not to question in my profession, but I have no intention of stopping you.”
“Good,” Alex’s father responded, a little relieved. “Then, you can start by telling me where my son is.”
Higgins looked at the screen to his right, typed something onto the keyboard, and a red dot began blinking on the screen.
“He isn’t far,” Higgins explained. “There’s a forested area about two and a half miles from here, to the east. I can give you this locator,” the chief of security added as he handed James a thin, cell phone-looking device. “I’ve already coordinated its target with Alex’s signal. It should give you constant directions and distance to your son.
“However, you must understand that I am disobeying an implied order, and I am doing so willfully. I should not be giving you any technology that might allow you to undermine whatever it is that your son plans to do. This is as far as I can help. Know that you will be traveling in the dark, and if you leave this compound and our radius of patrol, I cannot guarantee your safety.”
“Thank you, Mr. Higgins,” James responded sincerely, “but I don’t need protection. I have been watching out for myself for forty-two years, and I think I can handle the woods.”
Higgins walked over to the door and opened it, indicating it was time to end the conversation. “With all due respect, sir, you have no idea what you’re talking about. And I strongly suggest that you reconsider.”
“Let him go if he wants,” Sophie’s voice could be heard from outside the shed.
James walked out, already planning to speak with her. He walked right up to her and stared directly into her eyes.
“You have no right to keep us in the dark.”
“Oh?” Sophie replied. “You may not fully realize that this situation is out of your control, but this would be a good time to begin considering it. You don’t have the ability to change what is destined. A force beyond the comprehension of anyone here guides the actions of your child now. And Alex knows better than any of us what is at stake.
“As far as my actions or inaction as an Elder Prophet is concerned, I will do whatever I think is most likely to safeguard the lives of humans and prophets who are in my charge, and that includes Alex. However, Alex is a special case, isn’t he? He has done things that no other prophet has ever done, and an archangel protects him. I know that he has defeated the most powerful demon believed to exist twice.
“If you choose to go rescue him, be my guest. The angel protects you too. So, no demon will attack you while you are traipsing about in the woods.”
“He’s my son,” James muttered defiantly. “It’s my job to protect him too. I can’t do that if everyone shelters me and keeps me in the dark about what my son is doing.”
“I empathize, Mr. Tanner; I really do. This, though, is even out of my control. Alex does not answer to the Elder Prophet Council; neither does he answer to Jeremiah. We watch him for cues now. He communicates directly with God. If you were wise, you would follow his cues as well.”
“The person you speak of sounds so different from my boy,” James explained imploringly. “I just don’t know what my place is anymore.”
Sophie smiled, put her arm around him, and escorted him back to the house. “Join the club.”
***
Alex was lost in a state of ecstasy. Nothing he had ever done or imagined could have prepared him for finally making love to the woman of his dreams. None of his fantasies came close to the reality of being with Elizabeth, to sharing this intimate moment with her.
All of his attempts to block the transfer of emotions were in vain as their bodies were entwined. He could feel her passion and didn’t doubt that she felt his as well. His control and respect for privacy seemed unimportant and unnecessary. The only thing he wanted was to extend this experience forever. He could have died happily in her arms right then, the weight of his destiny and responsibilities far away.
Of course the moment did eventually end. With a shudder and a moan, and despite his resistance, Alex was pulled back into a cruel and desperate world.
Gazing into her eyes, he could still catch a glimpse of where he had been, and they both smiled. Alex leaned forward and kissed her again.
“Thank you,” he whispered.
***
The party was in full swing. Nearly a hundred people already milled around the house or had found a comfortable spot outside. Renee moved from crowd to crowd, gauging the guests’ reaction to the party.
She hadn’t begun administering Lyubov yet. Something bothered her, made her question the morality of giving all these children such an addictive drug. She hadn’t felt her conscience tug at her like this in a long time; still, she had a job to do.
“Hey,” someone called to her, pulling her from her thoughts.
She turned to see a boy of about sixteen in a letter-jacket, a plain, white t-shirt, and faded blue jeans running up to her.
He smiled a little bashfully as he recognized how beautiful Renee was. She gave her best ‘come hither’ look to him and smiled back. “Hey, yourself.”
He motioned absently with his left hand. “Those people over there said you knew where the beer was.”
“Sure do,” she verified. “There are two kegs in the back, next to--”
A tingle in her head made her stop. There were prophets nearby.
“Shit,” she muttered.
“I’m sorry?” The boy smiled stupidly in confusion.
“In the back,” she repeated curtly and stalked quickly back to the mansion.
This wasn’t part of the plan. As much as she hated to, she knew she needed to call Yuri for advice. Prophets here could spell disaster for her if they weren’t friendly, and it was very likely that they wouldn’t be. Her pace quickened to a run.
Ignoring the guests, including some who had something to ask her, she ran in the house and up the stairs to Yuri’s office, where there would hopefully be a safe phone line. She pulled out her key to the door and stuck it in the lock, only to find that the door was already unlocked. She froze.
Reaching for her cell phone, she wondered who she might call at this point. One of the guards? If there was someone in the room already, they might hear her making a call. She took her hand from the knob and started to back away from the door.
She stopped as something hard and cold pressed against the small of her back and someone whispered in her ear, “You should go in the office and speak to me and my friends. We’ve been looking for you for a little while, and we don’t plan to harm you.”
“I’ll scream,” she threatened.
“Then, I’ll have to do something drastic,” the male voice behind her warned. “Let’s just play nice. Okay?”
Renee had to think quickly. She didn’t know who was waiting for her on the other side of that door, but she re
ally didn’t want to meet this guy’s friends. She closed her eyes and focused her attention and energy on the person standing behind her with a pistol. She forced doubt to sweep over him. Even other prophets were susceptible if their minds were weak enough. And judging by the way the pressure from the gun against her back decreased, Renee became hopeful.
She had become accustomed to giving little suggestions to her victims to help expedite the process. Otherwise, they usually stood motionless, too afraid of failure to make any kind of independent action. They had to be coaxed.
“Now, that’s no way to treat a lady,” Renee explained, turning on the young man.
He had a handsome, childlike face atop a very toned body. He looked concerned now, as if he’d done something wrong.
He’s vain, she thought. This should be easy. “Do you think you could really use a gun on me? Would you shoot an unarmed, defenseless woman?”
He looked down at his .45 uncertainly, then back to her.
“That’s what I thought,” she added confidently. “You’re not strong enough to hold that gun anymore. Why don’t you put it down before you hurt yourself.”
Slowly, the prophet placed his gun on the floor.
She smiled. Now, for the seduction. “You couldn’t really kill someone as beautiful as me. Could you?”
A look of confusion drifted onto his face for a second, and she decided to intensify things. “You can’t live without me. You feel weak and vulnerable. Your very manhood is shaken. Let’s go somewhere private, and I will reassure you.”
The other prophet suddenly looked startled and repulsed. With movements so fast that Renee only perceived blurs, he retrieved his gun and placed it against her left temple.
“I don’t think that will work again,” he told her. “All the same, speak another word, and you’ll make a liar out of me with that whole not-harming-you thing. Get in the office.”
This time, she didn’t resist. She went to the door, opened it, and there were two men waiting for them inside. One was oriental; the other was tall and familiar. She remembered at once. He was the one from the news. She thought his name was John.
“Watch this one,” the prophet behind her said as he closed the door. “She likes to get inside people’s heads.”
“What are you doing on my property?” Renee demanded. “I haven’t done anything to you.”
“Not yet,” John corrected. “But I think you intend to.”
Renee, believing John to be the ringleader, focused all of her energy and drove doubt into his mind. “You need to leave before I call the police.”
As soon as she completed her thought and exerted her will against his, she felt like her head was going to explode. The agony drove her to her knees.
“No,” John said, “I don’t think you will call the police. There’s something here you don’t want them to find. What is it?”
Renee’s eyes opened involuntarily, and she could feel her mind being probed. She tried to combat the invasion, but John was too strong.
“A drug,” John answered himself. “And it’s being stored in the refrigerator. Well, we’ll have to confiscate that.”
“I planned to pour it down the drain,” Renee announced, surprising herself.
“I believe you. Nevertheless, I would like to have a sample analyzed.”
Renee stood up from the floor, free from her mental anguish. “Whatever. At this point, I just want to get as far away from this town as I can.”
“I’m afraid that won’t be possible,” the oriental man said, moving up to her. “I believe that you represent a direct threat to the prophets in this area. My name is Zeng Wei, and as a member of the Elder Prophet Council, I must insist that you come with me to answer a few questions.”
Renee smiled uncomfortably. “I don’t think that’s going to work.”
“And why not?” the younger prophet behind her asked.
“You wouldn’t like the answers I have, and my boss wouldn’t be very happy if I shared them with you.”
***
Joanie noticed that her boyfriend, Trevor, didn’t seem the same when he got back from the bathroom, or wherever it was he went. He had a rack of vials in his hand that looked like it had come directly from Mr. Gates’s Chemistry classroom. In each vial was a bright green liquid that could have passed for a typical Hollywood portrayal of nuclear waste.
He walked up to the bonfire and looked around. He didn’t act like he noticed her.
“What’s that?” she inquired.
Hardly even looking at her, he handed her a vial. “Put a drop on your hand. I promise you’ll love it.”
“Trevor, honey, what is this stuff?”
Something in what she said caught his attention. He stared at her intently, curiously, for a moment, as if a thought just occurred to him.
“Do you trust me?” he asked her.
“Of course I do.”
“Just a small drop on the palm of your hand,” he pleaded gently. “I did it, and I feel better than I ever have.”
She stared into his eyes and conceded. “Fine.”
She held out her palm, and Trevor took it in his hand. With his other hand, he dropped just a little of the green liquid into her hand. It sat on top of her skin for a second. Then, with his right forefinger, he rubbed the liquid into her palm.
“Give it a second,” he advised her.
“How fast is this stuff supposed to kick in?”
But even as the words left her mouth, she knew the answer: immediately.
At first, she was dizzy, but that didn’t last very long. She could feel the strong arms of her boyfriend lowering her body to the ground. Everything was simply amazing. Her body felt weightless, and her mind was racing. She wanted to touch—to hug—other people, especially Trevor, who gave her this fantastic drug.
“How do you feel?” he asked from far away, but it also felt like it came from within her head.
“Better than I ever have,” she echoed his previous sentiment.
“Hey, Trevor,” she heard someone call, “can I get some of that?”
“Absolutely,” Trevor responded smoothly. “The chick inside said that anyone who wanted some could take it. There’s enough for everyone. Pass it around.”
He turned and began walking toward the house. Joanie unsteadily got to her feet.
“Trevor, where are you going?” she called after him. “Stay here with me.”
“Sorry, honey,” came his reply in a voice that sounded very different from the one she knew, “there’s something I need to take care of.”
***
“All right,” Elizabeth said, “you can turn around.”
Alex had only laughed when Elizabeth told him he would have to face the other direction while she put on her clothes. He picked up his boxers, jeans, and t-shirt off the ground, where they, along with Liz’s clothes, had provided a very small barrier between them and the cold earth. He didn’t even argue with her. Instead, he took his pile of clothes, compliantly turned away from the body he had just held, and began slipping into his underwear.
When she gave him permission to look at her again, he was just pulling his shoes on.
“Well, I’m glad you’re dressed,” Alex observed with a laugh. “Imagine how awkward it would have been between us if I’d seen you naked.”
She threw her balled up socks into his face.
“Gross,” he protested as he batted them away.
“Hey! You’re getting my socks all dirty.”
He got up, picked up the socks, walked over to her, and ran his hand down the back of her hair. “That isn’t all that’s dirty.”
She touched the side of his face tenderly. “I guess getting a little dirty sometimes can be a good thing.”
Alex sighed in reluctance. “We should head back to the house. People are probably starting to wonder.”
“Yeah.”
The night sky lit up for a moment. Then, an earth-shaking explosion followed.
Alex and E
lizabeth both fell to their knees after the shockwave.
“What the hell was that?” Alex demanded, getting back to his feet.
“I don’t know, but we need to get back. We’re not safe out here.”
“I think you may be right,” agreed the boy. “Let’s get back to the car.”
Elizabeth nodded, and the two of them collected the rest of their things and ran, with some effort, up a steep hill to where the car had been parked.
***
“Who is your boss?” John inquired.
“I’m telling you,” Renee tried to explain, “it’s better for everyone if you just let me leave.”
John looked to only consider this option for a moment. “I’m sorry. We can’t do that. We need to destroy the drugs and go to a safer place. If you will not come with us willingly, I’ll have to force you to return with us.”
“Well, if you only knew--”
But that’s where she stopped. Her jaw hung slack, and her eyes widened in terror.
“Master,” she whimpered.
The three prophets looked around the office, at each other, then back to Renee. They neither saw nor felt any other presence in the room.
“She’s trying to distract us,” Matt suggested.
John backed away from the girl. “I’m not so sure.”
***
Renee looked at John with disdain. He had no idea what he was getting himself into. And she didn’t mind that he had a death wish, but she had to get far from this place. That was the only hope she had to live. Appealing to their reason, without giving too much away, would be her sole chance of making it out of this God-forsaken mansion.
“Well, if you only knew--”
A shadowy, surreal movement passed before her eyes and was gone. A disembodied voice, that seemed to permeate her very being, rang clearly throughout the room. The sound of the voice was pleasant, but Renee knew better than to trust that interpretation.
“Knew what, child?”
The Elder Prophets (To Absolve the Fallen Book 2) Page 29
