by Ted Dekker
We hadn’t shared a private moment since Rose had told him about my pregnancy. I’d hoped that carrying his child would change the way I felt about him, but I still hadn’t chosen him.
“Good morning, Grace,” he said, lowering himself beside me.
“Good morning.”
He laid his hand on my knee. “How are you feeling?”
I wanted to move my knee but remained still as practiced. “Fine,” I lied. My muscles and bones ached from the constant tension.
“That’s good to hear. I was hoping you would join me tonight for dinner?”
It wasn’t one of my nights to be with Andrew, so the question took me a tad off guard. And with all that was happening, how could I? I wasn’t sure how to respond.
Noticing my hesitation, Andrew continued. “It’s just that we haven’t had a chance to talk since news of our pregnancy. I know things are chaotic, but it would be nice to celebrate.”
Before I could answer, my mother placed her hand on my other knee. “The truth is, Andrew, Grace is putting on a brave face. So much has happened and she’s rather ill.”
She’d sensed my awkwardness and saved me. Something in her had changed since Ben and Eli’s arrival. She was hardly the same woman I’d known a week ago, and I loved her even more deeply for it.
Andrew removed his hand and his eyes darkened with concern. “Should she see the doctor?”
“Oh, no,” my mother said. “He’s already instructed her to take appropriate vitamins and rest. I’m keeping a close eye on her, don’t you worry.”
Andrew nodded. “Good. Thank you.” He dropped his voice and shifted his gaze back to me. “Perhaps when you’re feeling better then? We should discuss your move into my house.”
I hesitated. “Yes, of course.”
After a lingering gaze, Andrew stood and walked to sit on the front pew with the other council members.
I offered my mother a thin smile of appreciation, and for a moment we held each other in a knowing look. Things were different between us now that I was with child. For the first time in many years, she was mothering me.
She gave my knee a gentle squeeze, then turned her focus back to the stage. I glanced up and saw Rose taking the podium. Silence filled the room.
Rose faced us, her eyes focused. They lingered on me longer than the others. Or maybe my fear was making me see things.
“Is it not true that we have accepted Jesus, God’s only Son, and him alone, as our Savior?”
The congregation answered in unison, “Yes.”
“Is it not true that all forms of wickedness would drag us away from our inheritance of the kingdom of heaven, which awaits us all because of our decision to accept him into our hearts?”
Again, “Yes.”
“And that we follow every word given us in his Holy Scriptures?”
“Yes.”
“That word warns us about wolves in sheep’s clothing, who come with a message of hope and love while drawing us into idolatry. This is the bride’s great test. We have accepted our calling while the world has fallen prey to the Fury.”
She paced to her right, eyes on her flock, drawing them into a holy passion for righteousness. I could feel it washing over me and I cringed, knowing I had desecrated the very holiness the word had led our community into.
“By now you all know that a man named Ben Weathers entered our haven. Many of you knew Ben before we were called to holiness, and because of that connection to our past he was permitted to stay within the perimeter as we sought to understand the meaning of his arrival. How could a man survive the Fury and make his way to us? Now we know: he was infected with the Fury himself. A wolf in sheep’s clothing. But the darkness swallowed him and took his life the day before last.”
She let the statement stand as speculation whispered through the sanctuary. My mother sat perfectly still beside me. We were perhaps the only two in that room who wondered if Rose could be wrong about Ben.
Rose lifted her hand for silence. “As you also know, a young boy unknown to us all accompanied Ben. He too was permitted to stay. But much has come to light since their arrival. Now we know the darkness took Ben’s life because his only role was to deliver the boy to us. And that boy is the darkness masquerading as light.”
Silence.
Colin was the first to ask the obvious question. “How can you be sure? He’s so young.”
“I’m certain!” Rose snapped with enough conviction to make any man cringe. She continued in a more measured tone. “I have it from the highest authority that the great deceiver who would test us in the end has come. And our time is short. He may have seemed young and innocent, but if his full power as a Fury is allowed to manifest, you will wish you had never been born!”
I held my breath, taken aback by her strong words. Voices of concern erupted, but Rose silenced them quickly with both hands raised.
“The boy escaped us, almost certainly with the help of someone here. He walks free to stalk us in his deceptive ways. For the sake of our salvation and inheritance, I implore you to understand the gravity of this situation. The wolf is at large and must be apprehended at all costs.”
A beat passed. To a man, woman, and child, we hung on her every word. She still hadn’t answered Colin’s simple question with any detail. How could she be so sure Eli was the wolf in sheep’s clothing? Eli had done nothing to show himself as a threat. Sylous had said this?
My heart was pounding so loudly that I wondered if my mother might hear. Or worse, Jamie, who was watching the prophet, drinking in her words. He wouldn’t hesitate to turn me in if he even suspected my involvement.
“Until the boy and any who might have assisted him are found, we are placing Haven Valley under high-alert protocols. All members of Haven Valley will be required to be in their homes by five p.m. sharp. All children will be kept at home during the day, watched and accounted for. No one is allowed outside alone. Groups of three must be maintained at all times. All able men over the age of sixteen will report to Harrison to participate in a search for the boy, which will now extend beyond the perimeter.”
“Outside the perimeter?” Colin said. “If the boy’s escaped our valley, then we’re safe.”
“We will not be safe until the boy is found!” Rose raged. “He will find his way in at night, in our dreams, in the very air we breathe! He must be found immediately.”
I could see the veins bulging at her hairline. She was terrified of Eli. If she ever got her hands on the boy she would kill him without hesitation.
“What if he really is just a boy?” My mother’s frail voice filled the room as she slowly stood. “How can you be so sure he’s a Fury?”
I wanted to yank her back down. I wanted to stand and defend her, apologize for her outburst, claim exhaustion and insanity. But it was too late.
“Are you questioning my authority in this matter?” Rose demanded.
“No. I’m just trying to understand how we can be so sure he’s not just a boy who longs to be protected. And isn’t our charter to remain within the safety of the red line? Why are we risking our purity by breaking our own law?”
Rose pinned my mother with a terrifying glare, then moved her gaze across the rest of the community. “Who else among you doubts my knowing in this matter?”
No one answered, but others surely wondered the same. I exhaled the breath I’d been holding and hoped that the collective questioning would grant my mother some grace even as she sat back down, back stiff. I’d never seen her show such courage.
Rose stepped forward. “The one who was sent to us from God, who leads us and protects us, appeared to me. Sylous’s warning was undeniable. If the boy is allowed to live five days among us, he will bring the end to all. Two of those days have passed. It is written that the darkness comes as light and the thief comes to kill and destroy. If we doubt Sylous, we will be consumed by the evil that stalks us and we will surely die.”
Rose stood trembling. Not a soul stirred.
&
nbsp; I glanced to my left and saw my mother sitting like a board, face drained of blood. No one, not even my mother in her newfound courage, would dare voice doubt now.
“What we face is beyond our understanding,” Rose breathed. “But there can be no doubt: the boy must be found.” With that, she walked unsteadily down the steps and sat in the pew.
Harrison let the silence linger before clearing his throat. “We have survived the wrath of the Fury by remaining true to the word given us.” His voice echoed through the small auditorium. “Stand with me,” he said, spreading his arms wide. “Stand with us against the evil that seduces us and threatens our pure standing before God.”
Someone began to softly weep. Cries were joined by sniffles as Haven Valley’s faithful tried to contain the heavy presence of holiness in that place.
“And if there is one among us who has conspired with the devil, may God have mercy on your soul. I beg you to come forward now before your defiance of God brings death to us all.”
Fear swallowed me as the reality of my situation returned to me with those words. He was speaking about me. I wasn’t only standing against my family, Rose, and the town; I was in defiance of Sylous. And of God.
And this to protect a boy who could bring about the end of the world.
God help me.
Chapter
Twenty-Six
MY MIND WAS FILLED WITH IMAGES OF ELI. OF HIS bright smile filling with gnarled teeth, his sweet voice turning harsh as he sneered and salivated, his blue eyes becoming bottomless pits of terror. But everyone knew I was given to flights of fancy. Like a child, they told me. So maybe it was only my overactive imagination filling me with wild thoughts. Was Eli leading me astray as Rose suggested? Was I really willing to continue to endanger Haven Valley to keep one boy hidden from a reckoning with truth?
Several hours had passed since we’d left the Chapel in a daze of holy terror. A new sense of desperation to find the missing boy was paramount in every hushed conversation. I was trying to rest as my mother had instructed, but how could I with such unrest everywhere?
I heard the search party called out as the flock descended the hill on which the small church sat. They would start searching outside the perimeter on the south side, sweeping north. By noon they would reach the train tracks and find Eli. I was sure of it.
I sat up on my bed and swung my feet over the side. If I did nothing, the search parties would find Eli with the backpack I’d left for him! It would quickly lead them to me.
If I risked trying to move him into the perimeter, I could get caught red-handed. Worse, I might be bringing the wolf into the sheep pen.
Either way, I was in terrible trouble. Bobbie had warned me.
But there was still the issue of Eli himself that battered my brain. Who was he? Why did he fill me with both fear and great calm at the same time? How could he be both a dangerous beast and an innocent wonder? By helping him escape and keeping him hidden, was I acting in mercy or in deception?
Surely the latter, but I couldn’t bring myself to accept it.
Raised voices drifted through my door, which was slightly ajar. I lifted my head from my palms. Jamie and Mother were having words. Again. I stood close to my door to listen.
“Please, Jamie . . .”
“I just don’t understand what would cause you to do such a thing,” Jamie snapped. “Our family is facing accusations as it is, with Rose eyeing Grace. The intruder was your husband, for heaven’s sake! Why would you draw more attention to us?”
“I don’t know,” Mother said, voice trembling. “I saw the boy when he first came, Jamie.” She sniffled. “His eyes, blue as they were . . . I’ve only ever been that struck once before—by you and your sister, when you were born. Everyone told us your eyes would lose their shine, but they never did.”
“And that was enough reason to stand publicly against our leadership?” Jamie demanded.
“Grace said your father mentioned the word brother. And after seeing him . . .” She faltered. “I’ve dreamed of him, Jamie. He’s just a child.”
“He isn’t just a child!” Jamie spat. “He’s dangerous! You’re living proof of his deception.”
“I haven’t been deceived. I just believe he needs his family to protect him.”
“Based on the color of his eyes?”
“Based on the way he made me feel. Based on the way I still feel!”
Jamie didn’t respond, and a moment later hard steps across the wooden floor echoed up the stairs.
“Jamie, please try to understand,” my mother called after him, but it was too late. I heard the front door slam, followed by a desperate whimper. Soon my mother’s whimpers turned to sobs, and I ducked back inside my room and pushed my door shut.
My heart was racing. I wasn’t the only one who sensed something about Eli. My mother had connected with him the way I had. Were we both deceived, then? Or both his only hope?
I considered rushing out of my room and down the stairs to stand with my mother and tell her she wasn’t alone. But there wasn’t time for that. Emboldened by her hope, I knew if I was going to act, I had to do so now.
“Don’t do this, Grace.”
I turned to face Bobbie, who was standing a couple feet behind me, face drawn and pale. I knew what she was going to say before the words came out.
“You’ll get caught.”
“Yes, I might,” I agreed. There was no point in denying what I knew.
“Then you would be insane to do what you’re thinking,” Bobbie said.
But it was already too late, because I knew what I was going to do as if I’d always known. I wasn’t willing for the boy to die before I understood who he really was.
Bobbie stepped forward and placed her hands on both of my shoulders. “Listen to me, Grace. If you’re wrong . . . Do not do this! They’ll crucify you!”
“Not if I don’t get caught,” I said. “That’s a risk I’m willing to take.”
Bobbie searched my eyes, deeply concerned. “He’s dangerous,” she finally said.
“And what if he isn’t?”
“Why would you risk so much for a boy who might get everyone killed?”
“You told me to trust no one. That anyone could be the deceiver. Can you tell me without a shadow of a doubt that Eli is the darkness masquerading as light?”
She balked, because she didn’t know.
“Me neither,” I said. “And until I can, I’m not willing to sign his death warrant.”
“I may not know what kind of Fury he is—”
“Or if he’s just a boy,” I interrupted.
“Or if he’s just a boy,” she acquiesced. “But I do know he presents a danger to you, and you’re my charge. I beg you to reconsider. Please listen to wisdom. That would be me. Listen to me!”
“They’ll find the backpack!”
She gave a nod. “Then get the backpack but leave him!”
I didn’t respond.
“Grace, just the backpack.”
I stared at her, then turned on my heels and walked out of my room.
FOR THE SECOND TIME IN TWO DAYS, I FOUND MYSELF slipping out through my bedroom window. My fear was still there, screaming in the background, begging me to stay in my room where it was safe. But a new determination nudged me onward.
Before I left I made sure to make an appearance before my mother, who was still crying at the kitchen table. I got some water, played the sick card, and announced I was retiring to my room for several hours, hoping to sleep through my nausea. My mother was so caught up in her own grief that she’d just nodded me off.
I knew my mother well. Her emotions often trapped her in dark places, and as much as I wished she didn’t have to suffer, I was counting on that suffering now. It could easily be hours before she moved from her slump.
I dropped to the grass from the low branch and quickly hid behind the large trunk. Houses rose on either side of me. Another neat row ran before me, and a third behind our house. It was the midd
le of the day, so I’d have to move with extreme caution, especially with the search teams out and about. They were surely still working their way north, outside the perimeter. So my best route was probably the most direct path, albeit out of sight. It would take me about ten minutes to maneuver along the south side of the homes, then north to the abandoned cars, keeping well clear of any occupied structures.
Bobbie’s words still whispered through my mind, setting my nerves on edge. Please listen to wisdom, Grace. Don’t do this! I inhaled deeply and tried to settle my mind. The only thing I knew for certain was that if Rose got her hands on Eli, she would kill him as she’d killed my father. So I focused on that thought alone.
I ducked low as I ran along the back of our house, stopped at the corner to make sure the coast was clear, then went on to the next house. My pulse pounded, and the occasional voice from inside the homes pushed me faster.
Bobbie wasn’t with me, and for that I was grateful, but her warning clanged like a bell at the back of my mind.
I reached the last home, pulled up at the corner, flattened my back against the brick, and took several deep breaths. So far so good. With a quick poke of my head around the corner, I saw that the coast was clear. The town had come to a virtual standstill—that was good. But anyone caught outside would stand out—that wasn’t so good.
I drew my head back and let out a long breath. Just a quick sprint to the tree line, I told myself. Then north along the trees and west to the tracks. I could do this.
I pushed off the wall and raced toward the tree line, knowing that I was at my most vulnerable out here, in the open. Knowing that a voice would call out at any moment, demanding to know why I was running away from the town like a terrified rabbit.
But none came. And then I was at the trees and grabbing a trunk to stop myself. I collapsed to my knees in the shade, panting but safe. For the moment.
The breeze carried voices to me from the east, and I turned to listen. Nothing. It had probably been one of the search parties at the perimeter, less than fifty paces from where I hid. They were still a long way from Eli.
