"I'll let you discover the rest of the experience for yourself when we get there. Let's get moving. We're burning daylight."
CHAPTER 44
His eyes darted back and forth, back and forth, searching for the little clues telling him exactly where Taylor and young Cameron had gone. As he slogged along he massaged the handle of his knife with one hand, the handle of his gun with the other.
It was always good to check to see that his two friends were still with him, even though he knew they were. They were loyal, they could be trusted to follow directions, and they never talked back or tried to force him to listen to a dissenting opinion. And when they were called on to persuade people to his way of thinking they always performed well.
He nicked his pinky finger on the tip of the knife and watched the small bead of blood pop to the surface of his skin. After licking it, he wiped the finger on the back of his neck and slowed his pace.
Stone wasn't trying to be discreet; tracking him and Cameron was almost as easy as following a dirt bike up the mountain. And there was little point in getting close enough to be seen should one of them look back and have the right line of sight to see him.
He fell back to what he estimated was a fifteen-minute gap and tried to quell the adrenaline pumping through his body.
But this was the day he would fulfill his destiny. Finally. How much longer? An hour? Two at most?
He wouldn't enjoy killing them. There would be no joy in it. But once he knew where the book lay, it would be the right decision.
CHAPTER 45
After hiking another ninety minutes, Taylor stopped at the base of two intersecting hills "We're almost there."
A thick grove of pine trees framed Stone, who stood with his hands on his hips. A slight smile bounced over his face.
Cameron glanced at their surroundings. "I don't see any pages."
"Not yet." Taylor laughed.
"For a guy about to revisit a place that rocked his world to its foundation, you seem to be in an okay mood."
"You're perceptive, Mr. Vaux. And you're right. I am feeling good. I made a decision about something last night."
"What's that?"
"You'll see when we get to the book."
They trudged on through the trees, Taylor's stride growing wider and lighter. Whatever he'd decided must have taken a huge weight off.
Two minutes later Taylor stopped and grinned. "This is it."
"The book's location?"
"Yes."
Heat coursed through Cameron's body and he sucked in a quick breath. Stone was serious. Cameron glanced from tree to forest floor in a slow 360. Nothing. "Where?"
"I need to explain something before we take the final steps to get there." Taylor closed his eyes for a moment before continuing. "When Adam and Eve chose to disobey God in the garden, it wasn't just man's immortality that was destroyed. The earth itself fell from its original design."
"What does that mean?"
"As stunning as the earth can be, its current beauty is a shadow of its original splendor. God says the earth itself groans, longing to be restored to its original design. And one day it will be. There will be a new earth restored to its former glory. Far more beautiful than what man sees now."
"What does that have to do with the book?"
"Maybe it's my imagination, but I believe this place we're about to step into has retained much of that original design. At the very least, the presence of God is here in a way I've never sensed anywhere else."
Cameron gave a wry grin. "Should I expect a bush to start burning?"
Stone's eyes narrowed. "The ice has grown thin under your feet, Cameron. Be careful. God will not be mocked."
Cameron's face flushed. "I shouldn't have said that."
"Let it go."
"I'm sorry—"
"It's all right. Truly. He is a God of vast mercy. Vast forgiveness." Taylor smiled. "Let it go. He has."
Taylor pointed over Cameron's shoulder. "Do you see anything through the pines?"
He turned. "I see a rock wall on the other side of them."
"That's where we're going. Right through the rock."
He followed Taylor through the ten yards of trees and stopped just beyond them. Taylor motioned toward the wall. "What do you see now?"
"The same thing I saw a moment ago. A rock wall."
"That's what I see too, even if that's not what's there." He winked at Cameron. "Watch this." He took half steps up to the rock and then seemed to vanish. A moment later he was back. "Now that's an illusion worthy of David Copperfield. Are you ready to try? I'll be right behind you."
Cameron stepped forward till he was inches away from the wall.
"Step forward; trust me you'll be fine."
He took another step forward and laughed. His eyes said he was stepping through solid rock, when in reality he was stepping in between two narrow rocks so perfectly aligned and with colors that matched so precisely he couldn't tell where one ended and the other started.
He was in a thin path, between the rocks. The walls narrowed at the top creating the sensation of walking through a tunnel. Sunlight shone through the other end like a beacon.
When he exited the path he stumbled to a stop. A gasp escaped. The scene before him was staggering. They were in a small valley the size of two football fields. The jagged, snow-capped peaks surrounding them shot up at least a thousand feet on each side. Pine trees lined a crystal clear lake so still it was impossible to distinguish any difference between the real mountains and sky from their reflection in the water.
The silence during the moments of rest they'd taken on the climb up seemed like the roar of the ocean compared to this place. A sense of peace immersed him like an ocean wave, and Cameron took in long breaths, pushing his lungs to take in more of the mountain air than possible.
"This is . . . astonishing." Cameron turned to look at Taylor.
Stone shook his head and smiled wide. "I'd forgotten how beautiful it is."
Cameron glanced at the sky. "Is it me, or is the sun getting brighter? This whole valley is—"
"It's not the sun. Look." Taylor pointed across the lake to the far shore.
A circle of light the size of a pinecone hovered in the air over the water.
"What in the world . . . ?"
Taylor shrugged. "I'm not sure."
Even from fifty yards away it was so bright Cameron had to shield his eyes.
Through his fingers he watched the circle split and streak around the lake toward them, then split again and sprint toward the sky. And again and again till there were thousands of trails of light into and through and around each other till they filled the valley, arching over them and surrounding them like an ocean of light.
A roar like thunder exploded against his ears, and he covered them while at the same time holding his elbows up to his eyes in a vain attempt to block the increasing brilliance.
An instant later he lay facedown on the lake's shore, the light pressing him down and into his back, as if the weight of a thousand planets were on top of him.
And unfathomable love. He felt it. He was immersed in it . . . He opened his mouth and drank in this Presence . . . now inside him, filling him, overflowing . . . A Being so magnificent he would follow Him anywhere.
A moment later everything vanished.
The weight.
The light.
The Presence.
Cameron sat in the aftermath for what might have been minutes, or might have been hours. All he wanted was for the light to return.
Taylor sat cross-legged, looking like he'd been caught up in an F5 tornado and loved every moment of it.
"What was that?" Cameron said.
"This is a holy place."
"I felt Him." He frowned at Taylor, then smiled. "I felt God. He was . . . in me."
"Yes."
Cameron shuddered. "I . . . I don't know how to explain it."
"You don't have to."
"He's real." Cameron covered
his face with his hands and blew out a long breath. "He's found me."
Taylor yanked Cameron into his chest. "Welcome to life."
After their embrace Cameron glanced around the lake, still swimming in the intensity of the moment. "Did this happen last time you were here?"
"It was different, but also the same. I'm not sure I can explain it. And it lasted much longer last time. And didn't vanish so suddenly." Taylor frowned, then smiled. "But that's okay. I'm not sure I could have taken much more anyway."
A moment later his smile vanished and his face hardened into flint as he stared over Cameron's shoulder. "We have a problem."
A voice rang out from behind Cameron along with the cocking of a gun. "Yes, you do." Laughter. "I would say you most certainly do."
Cameron spun as the figure above them twirled a knife around the fingers of his left hand and held a gun in his right as he tramped down the slope toward Cameron and Taylor.
"You're going to teach me all about the Book of Days, Stone. Then you and Mr. Vaux will unfortunately need to die."
It was Kirk Gillum.
CHAPTER 46
Kirk Gillum gazed around the valley and grinned before focusing on Cameron and Taylor. "I appreciate you two. Truly." He winked at them.
Cameron glanced at Taylor. If he was surprised at Kirk's appearance, it didn't show. Where was Jason?
"First, thank you for validating the belief I've had in a real book all these years. Not even Jason believed me till you came along, young Cameron. And second, thank you for leading me right to it; although I admit it took me a while to follow your tracks through that last part." He bowed and laughed.
"The book is the lake, right?" Kirk scratched the underside of his chin with the barrel of his Glock. "It makes sense. While I always thought a genuine book existed, I never thought it would be literal paper and ink. That's much too prosaic for God, don't you think?" He raised both eyebrows and jutted his head back and forth, as if to taunt them with the question.
"Give the idea even the slightest consideration and you realize it would have to be an immensely large book to contain the story of all the lives that have lived and are still to live, hmm? And when Jason gave me the full report on the adventure in your basement, well, that seemed awfully convenient to me."
Kirk had been speaking in a singsong voice, as if talking to children, but suddenly he leveled the gun at Taylor's head and spoke in a monotone. "Okay, playtime is over. I'm ready to dance. Back away, Stone. I'd like to take a good long look at the future."
Kirk stepped up to the edge of the lake's shimmering surface and glared at Cameron. "We could have shared this, you know. Jason never lied to you like Stone did. He even offered you friendship. Truly, I did originally consider sharing it with you, but you've clearly sided with Stone, so now the book will be mine alone."
"Yours alone?" Cameron said.
"You thought I would share this with Jason? Really?" Kirk laughed and wagged his finger. "No, no, no. He wanted the book for the wrong reasons. Besides, toward the end of this little jaunt, he got downright pushy with his opinions and that was unacceptable. In any case, it would be impossible to share the book with him at this point since he's no longer with us. So sad. But I do appreciate the work he did for me. I don't think I've ever seen someone play the front man with more passion."
Cameron's stomach lurched. Gillum was insane.
Kirk kept the gun pointed in Taylor's direction as he gazed into the pool, expectant rapture on his face. The silence of the valley pressed in, the only noise was his steel-toed boots shuffling over the shale surrounding the pool as he sidestepped along its edge.
"How do I read it? What should I be seeing?"
"It was never real in a literal sense, Kirk."
"Nice try, Stone. Tell me how I get it to work." He pointed the gun at Taylor's head again.
Taylor walked toward Kirk.
"Stop!"
Taylor opened his hands. "The few who find this place do hear from God, but only when they slow down long enough to listen. He is alive and this"—Taylor motioned to the mountains surrounding him—"testifies to His glory and the magnificence of His creation. But there is no magic in the pool, no special chant that will tell you your past or present or specific details about the future unless you are willing to—"
"As you've probably figured out by now, I'm willing to do anything."
"No, Kirk, you're not. You must choose—"
"Shut up!" A shot whizzed by Taylor's head a foot to the right and splintered a tree behind him. "Tell me how it works!"
"You're not here to kill me."
"Really?"
"All right, if you are, then shoot me." Taylor took another step toward Kirk.
"What?"
"If it's truly what you want, shoot me." Taylor put his arms out to the side. "Go on."
Rage, sorrow, and fear passed over Kirk's sweaty face, all three emotions blazing out of his eyes in seconds. Then only rage remained. "You're ready to eat a bullet?"
"Yes."
Kirk's trigger finger shook.
"He's lost it, Taylor," Cameron said. "Don't make him snap."
Kirk snorted. "You're next, Cameron." He waved the gun back and forth between Cameron and Taylor, his finger still twitching. "Tell me what I need to do and we can all live happily ever after."
"You can put the gun away. And both Cameron and I will forget you ever came here."
"I'm finished with your games, Stone." Kirk's gun exploded with another shot, this time the bullet streaked by Taylor's head by no more than six inches. "Will you start talking, or do you want to see how close I can get to your head with each progressive shot?"
"There's nothing here for you to see."
Kirk turned and walked back toward the pool, glancing over his shoulder at Cameron and Taylor every few feet. He stared at the water as his eyes grew cold. When he finally turned back to them, the blood had drained from his face.
"Not acceptable. This doesn't make sense. This can't be all there is. The book has to be real." He bent down and touched the lake, then stood and flicked his fingers, drops of water arcing against the sun.
"I'm going to count to one. After that I will shoot you in the leg. If that doesn't convince you to talk, I'll shoot you in the arm, then the stomach. If that doesn't scare the cat into letting go of your tongue, I will start shooting Cameron." He grinned and spun toward Cameron. "In fact, maybe I should start with your new young friend."
Kirk turned the Glock on Cameron and moved his finger over the trigger.
The sensation of floating surged through Cameron and his mouth opened. He gave a tiny shake of his head and whispered, "Not yet."
As he glanced from Kirk's trigger finger to his face to the barrel of the Glock, time slowed.
It's not time. I'm not ready to die, Jessie.
An instant later something large smashed into Kirk from the side knocking him to the ground. A blur of clothes. A man, now on top, blocking a punch, driving his knee hard into Gillum's throat, and in the same fluid motion grabbing the gun out of his hand. The man bounced to his feet and took three rapid steps backward, the weapon trained on the mayor's head.
Dark hair, wiry build—it was Grange.
The Native American turned to Taylor, breathing hard. "Gillum has talent. He lost me for a time and his tracks were difficult to follow."
"My friend." Taylor grasped Grange's forearms as Grange clasped Taylor's. "Thank you."
"Of course."
Kirk lay moaning, holding his neck with one hand, his ribs with the other. Cameron guessed at least a few of them were broken.
Grange held the Glock with both hands and said to Kirk, "Get up. We have a long hike ahead of us." He looked over his shoulder at Taylor. "I will explain to him in detail the way things must be."
Taylor nodded and they watched Kirk stumble up and out of the valley, Grange following, the gun steady in his hand.
Cameron stared at Taylor. "What is that little smirk on your f
ace for?"
"It's not a smirk. It's a smile."
"Why?"
"Forgiveness." Taylor eased over to a boulder and sat. "For Kirk."
"Are you kidding? You're okay with what he just did to you?"
"I'm letting it go."
"What if he tries to come after—?"
"He won't. Grange will keep an eye on him. And once they trace Jason's murder to Kirk, the mayor's schedule will be full for a very long time."
Forgiveness.
Cameron stared at the craggy top of the highest peak surrounding the lake, locked his hands behind his neck, and paced back and forth.
Could he do it? Right here, right now? Could he forgive Taylor for telling him the book was real and bringing him here only to shatter his hopes? He'd believed. Taylor had convinced him the Book of Days existed.
But he'd felt God. He was real. Maybe it was enough.
"So the book is a place of beauty and solitude." Cameron spoke it more to himself than Taylor. "And a place of holiness. A place of God's presence. But not a place of memories and not a place where the future can be seen."
Taylor gazed at Cameron the way his dad used to. With joy, pride, and love shooting out of his eyes like lightning. "You are a good man, Cameron. We will talk about the book in a bit. But first the lake and I need to do some business."
CHAPTER 47
Taylor walked to within a few paces of the water and squatted. A moment later tears fell from his cheek and dropped onto the dirt at his feet.
"Do you want to be alone for this?"
"No. I'd like you to be here." He motioned Cameron to join him and waited till they crouched together on the edge of the pond.
Taylor reached into his pocket and pulled out an oblong object wrapped in a powder blue handkerchief. He motioned to it. "One of Annie's handkerchiefs from when she was a little girl." He unwrapped the object slowly, as if to lend some anticipation to what was inside. But Cameron already knew.
Book of Days: A Novel Page 29
